Pond Southwest Carpenters Union helps Pond
Pond Southwest Carpenters Union helps Pond
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00:00 The non-profit God's Pit Crew has been in Pond for a little over a week now,
00:04 helping to rebuild four homes destroyed by floods. And with only two weeks left
00:09 in the project, the crew is now receiving professional help. 23 ABC's Ruby Rivera
00:14 spoke with volunteers who are a part of this effort and tells us how this new
00:18 addition will help speed up the process. So far the help that Pond residents have
00:22 received have been from their neighbors, community volunteers, and God's Pit Crew.
00:26 And while residents say they are happy with the volunteers that have showed up
00:29 so far, they're grateful that the Southwest Carpenters Union is stepping
00:33 in and lending their knowledge in carpentry. Saturday marked a milestone in
00:39 the rebuilding efforts, with organizers getting a head count of roughly 70
00:42 volunteers. They are putting the screen door right now, they are finishing the
00:46 sheetrock, which is awesome. They were so fast compared to us. Pond resident
00:51 Bilquis Ubati says after seeing the progress made on Saturday, she has no
00:55 doubt her house will be complete in no time and is thankful for everyone who
00:59 has showed up, especially given the rise in heat. Alongside God's Pit Crew, St.
01:03 John's Church, and Pond locals, Kern Health Systems, the Southwest Carpenters
01:08 Union, and Assemblywoman Jazmine Baines also came out in support. We got the
01:12 notice on Tuesday, we were able to gather 15 volunteers for today.
01:17 Representative for Union Local 743 of the Southwest Carpenters, Jorge Torres
01:22 says each worker is skilled in drywall, insulation, doors, and rough carpentry.
01:27 Torres says their efforts are part of a volunteer program, and while they enjoy
01:30 giving back to the community, he says jobs like this one hit close to home.
01:34 These homes remind me a lot of where I was when I was, you know, through my
01:39 early teens, and just to have the opportunity to come out and help out and
01:47 make a difference. Given the extreme heatwave, fans were provided in a
01:52 partnership between Assemblywoman Baines and Kern Health Systems as a way to say
01:56 thank you to all the volunteers' hard work. Field representative for
01:59 Assemblywoman Baines, Claribel Gutierrez, says their main focus was donating
02:03 necessities. I want to provide something that you already have. I know that we
02:06 work with FEMA and getting everything else. He said we need the carpenters and
02:11 we need fans. We need people that are strong in the subject matter, so we reach
02:15 out to Kern Family Healthcare, and they were able to provide them for us.
02:19 Assemblywoman Baines says these efforts are an example of how giving the
02:22 community can be when they come together, and while she is proud to play a part in
02:26 those efforts, she says there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. We
02:30 rose to the call. We made all those calls that needed to happen over to the
02:33 governor's office, over state level, even federal, working with all of our
02:37 legislators here locally because PON matters. Our community matters.
02:43 Ubari says she feels blessed to be surrounded by people who care and is
02:46 thankful for all the hard work that's been done for her community. It's
02:49 amazing to see 70 people out here today. That's great.
02:53 God works in mysterious ways, and if you can give back to the communities,
02:58 it's a beautiful thing. The carpenters will continue working until Sunday and
03:02 will return next weekend. By that time, the goal is to round up 25 carpenters.
03:07 Once again, volunteers are always needed, and that information will be posted to
03:11 our website at turnto23.com. In Pond, Fabiola Rivera, 23 ABC News.