Convoy of Hope has responded to 13 disasters since April 27. From a parasite infecting water supplies in Montana to the aftermath of tornados in Oklahoma.
The Springfield, Missouri based disaster relief nonprofit most recently went to Houston, Texas, where storms caused flooding and wind damage last week. Eight deaths have been reported linked to the storm, and hundreds of thousands were still without power as of Monday.
Convoy’s Senior Director of U.S. Disaster Services Eric Gordon is in Houston where he said residents are facing a heatwave as officials say it may be the middle of the week before power is fully restored.
"Spirits are, believe it or not, still real high,” Gordon said, “People are very grateful. People are wanting to take care of their neighbors, and that just shows that there’s still a lot of good left in this world.” He explained, “for us, our team on the ground, our team that has been in multiple states in multiple places over these last numerous weeks, it recharges us just to see people and how grateful they are.”
Gordon said Convoy has been distributing food, water, cleaning products and more. He said they also help bring a sense of normalcy, something as simple as a comfort food like a snack cake can make huge difference in the middle of a disaster.
Gordon said they’ve been in the east Texas area around Houston for the last month, responding to flooding in April and early May and now last week’s storm. He said they’ve distributed over a million pounds of aid in the area in that time. They’re also watching storms across the middle of the country this week and preparing for what experts say may be a busy hurricane season.