Houston Veterans and the Aftermath of Harvey

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Houston Veterans & Supporters:

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in South Texas as a Category IV Hurricane on Friday, 25 August 2017.  While the South Texas cities of Corpus Christi, Rockport and Port Aransas felt the immediate impact of the storm, Houston was on the “dirty” side and would soon be reeling from torrential rainfall that would produce 800-year floods.

 

Rescue teams from the Texas National Guard in Houston, Texas. 

During a time of chaos and uncertainty, veterans sprang into action by hopping on boats & wading through flood waters to rescue stranded citizens. As the flood waters subsided, teams of veterans organized to help fellow veterans and neighbors “muck” out their homes.  Combined Arms Partner Organizations identified needs in their communities and found ways to serve. Veterans continue to serve.

Below are just a few of the ways Combined Arms Partner Organizations and individual veterans have been helping Houston stay #HoustonStrong.

In total, Combined Arms and its partners have made the following impact on the relief effort to date:

 

Total: 185 Volunteers

Total: 41 Relief Events

 

Team members from Travis Manion Foundation, staffing the OpCenter.

  • In the spirit of “If Not Me, Then Who?” - Travis Manion Foundation is managing and staffing the Operations Center in the Combined Arms Boardroom.  They are identifying inbound shipments of relief items and personnel from outside of Houston.  They find targets for the shipments.  They find volunteers with identified needs in the community.
  • Lone Star Veterans Association is managing and staffing the Call Center in Combined Arms.  They are taking inbound calls from the constituency and identifying volunteers and veterans that have needs in the community.
  • Lone Star Legal Aid and Beacon Law has been at GRB, NRG and other area relief centers providing legal advice regarding FEMA applications to those affected by the floods.
  • Career Gear opened its doors as a basic needs relief center where displaced persons can go to get basic needs items after leaving the shelter.
  • Combined Arms Staff has made significant changes to the website and back-end Salesforce.comtechnology with help from our amazing partners at Azimuth DS. By using our website, you may identify yourself as a volunteer, sign up for specific volunteer opportunities, or identify yourself as a veteran in need.

 

           Mobile VA Teams at Combined Arms. 

  • The Houston Vet Center has a mobile mental health clinic at Combined Arms starting at 9AM on Monday, 4 September.
  • Team Rubicon is staffing its Area Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on the 2nd Floor of Combined Arms.  The Area EOC will provide management of Team Rubicon activity along the Texas Gulf Coast from Rockport to Beaumont.  They have had 5 boat crews and support personnel along the Texas Gulf Coast performing rescue operations.  Now they are ramping up for relief operations along the gulf coast and will be asking Houston veterans to continue serving.
  • Vet Connect Day will be on Wednesday, September 6, at Combined Arms.  In addition to have VHA Enrollment and VBA representatives onsite, we will also be helping veterans with their FEMA Claims.  We are currently working to have FEMA representatives onsite.

 

Team Rubicon boat teams, loading up for Houston. 

  • The Mission Continues has executed nine Service Projects in Independence Heights, Oak Forest, Kashmere Gardens, East End, Sunnyside, and area shelters such as George R. Brown Convention Center and NRG Center. #CharlieMike
  • Volunteers from Impact A Hero responded quickly to the flood, procured boats for rescue, and headed out into the waters.
  • Travis Manion Foundation planned and executed a service project for a home in League City that needed to be “mucked” out.
  • Call to Action:  Houston needs its veterans.  Continue to serve by going to Combined Arms, Volunteer Houston or Team Rubicon.

 

Thank you for all you do.  Go forth and do great things.