On December 8-9, a group of 30 young people and adults from Austin and San Antonio traveled to Refugio to assist with a Rebuild Project in response to Hurricane Harvey that had devastated several areas in Texas last year. Under the leadership of Marshall Gonzales, Texas ACS Director, they had planned on repairing eleven houses. However, due to the rains on Saturday, they mainly focused on those that needed interior work. The Team ended up working on four houses and the Community Center in Bayside.
In the first house, they painted a room and made a frame for a window. They also made a step for the resident and replaced the soffit outside on Sunday. For the second house, our Disaster Response Team drywalled a room after which they did the tape and float. The next house had two rooms and the bathroom cleaned by fumigation. It was in very bad condition. While the young people were cleaning, roaches would fall on them, but they just kept on working until they got it all done. For the last house, they drywalled the living room, ceiling, two bedrooms, and two closets. The homeowners were extremely happy and grateful with all that was done to their homes. One owner was so overwhelmed with emotions that he said it gave him hope.
Since Sunday was a very sunny day, they painted the exterior walls of the Community Center of the city of Bayside. They bought the material there in Refugio, and the workers of the building supply company was so thankful that the materials were purchased there and not brought in from somewhere else. They were also very appreciative of our Team for their services to the affected community.
Marshall Gonzales said, “I was glad to see the young people who came out to help. We specifically are targeting Master Guides and young adults to help in the recovery work.” He added, “We look forward to doing more projects in Refugio.” Besides Austin and San Antonio, youth from the Dallas, Houston, and Valley areas will also be participating in the Rebuild work.
