Team Rubicon is on the ground helping in the Southeast following the devastation damage from Helene. They help with clearing roads, fixing houses and finding ways to support individuals affected by Helene.
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00:00Team Rubicon is the humanitarian organization led by military veterans who mobilize at disaster areas around the globe.
00:08Right now they are on the ground helping after Helene.
00:11Jeff Byard is the vice president of operations for the nonprofit and he joins us now. Jeff, good morning.
00:17Good morning.
00:18All right, Helene's damage area is over five states. So how are you all prioritizing Team Rubicon's efforts?
00:26You know, that's a great question. This storm clearly the needs outpace the resources.
00:31So, you know what our approach is is where can we start good work?
00:35That's why we have an operation already up and running to North Carolina.
00:39Excuse me to Georgia. We've got folks cutting teams, a route clearance team cutting there.
00:46We'll quickly get that in. So, you know, you kind of move north with this storm as you know,
00:50it has every hazard a hurricane can bring.
00:53Now I'm in North Carolina as we start assessing, you know, what are the first capabilities that Team Rubicon can bring in to do good?
01:00Of course, we're having some technical difficulties with the video feed, but we are back.
01:06You came from FEMA as an assistant administrator.
01:09What lessons have you applied to Team Rubicon to help on such a large scale?
01:15Yeah, well, it's speed to need, you know, if you're not there when you're needed, you're not going to be needed when you get there.
01:20So, you know, our teams run run fast. We're agile.
01:23You know, we establish a footprint and build out from there.
01:27So, you know, I learned lessons from FEMA and really going back to when I was with the state of Alabama.
01:34You know, you've got to be there and, you know, operate with a sense that, you know, it's all about the people.
01:42It's about the disaster survivors.
01:43Sometimes you got to look through process.
01:46Sometimes you got to throw it out the window and adapt, overcome and improvise.
01:50So, you know, you bring all those lessons and it's natural for Team Rubicon being veteran led and and that's what we do.
01:56Yeah. And the veteran led.
01:57What are some different ways that Team Rubicon can help after the aftermath of Helene?
02:05So, you know, initially what we're doing now is, you know, connecting with local governments to clear roadways for safe access.
02:12Then we'll quickly shift into our expedited home repair.
02:16And that could be a number of things from roof tarping to mucking out the home.
02:20You know, we want to make it safe and sanitary for the survivors, you know, a better day than they had yesterday.
02:26We obviously do a debris work.
02:28And, you know, one of the things that we do that a lot of people don't think of is be there for the disaster survivor, be, you know, an ear they can talk to, a shoulder they can cry on and just make their day better by any way we can.
02:42Jeff Beyer, vice president of operations for Team Rubicon, thanks again for joining us.
02:46And we thank you for all of the great work that you and your team are doing right now to help the survivors of Helene.