DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — They’re used to helping people all over the country, but on Thursday the folks from Disaster Relief at Work (DRAW) were helping their neighbors.
Armed with what they called “DRAW buckets” an army of volunteers arrived on Hanover Street in Dearborn Heights early Thursday to give out construction-style buckets filled with cleaning supplies meant to go to those in need following disasters.
Greg Martin, DRAW’s executive director, handed a bucket to Laurel Malane before anyone else — she was sitting on her porch when the trucks started arrive.
“We’re also hear to help send teams out if you need to pull stuff out, or anything like that,” Martin.
It’s not going to turn things around, but it’s a start.
For people like Pat McCarthy, it was a godsend. McCarthy, a retired police officer, had more than two feet of flood water in his basement. It’s a problem compounded by his decision to stop paying for flood insurance after the 2014 flood — the premiums rose too high for him to keep up.
“You either pay the premiums or you deal with this,” said McCarthy. “Now I’ve got to figure out how to take care of everything.”
It’s not like McCarthy was whole as it was. He tore out the dry wall in his basement previously to prevent mold from spreading. This time he’ll have to clean the studs that remain, but the real cost will be the heating and cooling system that flooded after being replaced within the last five years.
The help is rushing in for flooding victims in Dearborn Heights, but the pain is far from over. We met up with @drawbuckets for our story, coming up at noon on @wxyzdetroit. pic.twitter.com/TNqilQmIEY
— Matthew Smith (@MattSmithWXYZ) May 2, 2019
People like McCarthy were quick to greet the DRAW team and offer thanks for the help being offered.
Martin said they expect to be back in the coming days with teams to help with clean-up efforts beyond the supplies they dropped off today.
Asked why they rush to help, he said it was too hard to watch it happen in their own backyards. The crew, which operates out of a warehouse in Waterford, had plans to join the volunteers offering help before the flood waters began to recede overnight.
“I mean, when you get to help someone take one step back from rock bottom to normalcy — if you can bring hope in a moment like that? That’s living.”
If you’d like to learn more about DRAW, or the help they offer you can find more information about them at their website.
