You want bodies. You also want a house that isn’t worse at 5 p.m.
After Harvey, the useful people showed up with gloves, listened to the homeowner, and left when the light went. The other kind parked across the drain, argued about the TV, and opened walls nobody asked them to open.
You’re allowed to be picky when you’re the one sleeping there.
Do this now
- Name one person as lead. Everyone else takes a task from that person.
- Give a simple yes/no list: haul, stack, food, childcare. No electrical, no gas, no roof unless they’re actually qualified.
- Keep one lane open for trucks. Don’t let cars straddle the ditch or the bayou outfall.
- If someone is filming more than working, send them to the water table or home.
- Stop the day before dark if there’s no power. Tired volunteers break things.
Help that usually works
Mucking, carrying wet pad to the curb the city will actually pick up, watching kids on a dry porch, making rice, running ice. A church crew that has done this street before. A neighbor who knows which cleanout backs up. That’s the list. Thank them with water and a real end time, not a speech.
Help that gets in the way
Houstonians often report rubberneckers, unsolicited preachers, people who “just want to see,” and helpers who start demo in a room you hadn’t photographed. Also: generators in garages, bleach mixed like soup, and parking that blocks the next rescue or the haul truck. Send that energy down the street or home. You’re not the villain.
How to say no without a scene
“We’ve got a full crew, try two blocks south” is a complete sentence. If a group is already inside and it’s going sideways, pause the work, get people into the yard, and reset the lead. If someone refuses to leave, that’s a safety problem. 911 if it becomes one. 311 if they’re dumping debris in a place the city won’t touch.
Verify live. Status changes hourly. Confirm haul rules with 311 before volunteers stack the wrong curb. No electrical or gas work by random helpers.