HEROES of HARVEY
The Redd home served as a safe haven for neighbors
Jan and Ershel Redd’s home served as a safe haven for flooded neighbors.
T he night Hurricane Harvey hit in August, Jan and Ershel Redd, like the rest of Briargrove Park, watched the rising water, wondering when it would stop.
They headed to their son’s house, but while driving, they saw a couple walking, carrying plastic bags. Ershel stopped and offered them a ride to a hotel. That grateful couple ended up being the first of countless individuals the Redds would help in the course of the next month.
The waters stopped just short of their driveway. Jan considered it a sign; her house should offer shelter to others. And it wasn’t long until neighbors started to arrive — in droves.
There were a number of young couples with children. They were soaking wet and had nothing. The Redds brought them inside, covered them with towels and warmed them up. Then, Ershel drove them to hotels.
At the end of the day, Ershel took one last carload out. “He came back and said, ‘Well, we have company tonight. The hotels are full,’” Jan recalled.
The next day, rescue boats were stationed in their yard, the high point for Briargrove Park. The neighbors nicknamed it “Marina del Redd.”
“The people coming out were just devastated,” Jan said. “We were the first dry driveway. North of us was completely under water.”
The Redds became the cen- tral station for the neighborhood volunteer effort, and donations showed up daily at their door. First, kayaks and canoes appeared, which the Redds stored in their backyard, along with lifejackets, for anyone who needed them. The Redds put out folding chairs and brought out coolers, filled them with ice, water bottles and sodas.
Then, they set up tables, served meals and offered snacks. Friends in nearby dry neighborhoods donated food, went on runs to pick up loads of burgers. Local restaurants donated meals.
The Redds met a new need almost every day. They worked from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., alongside volunteers. They kept serving meals and offering a respite in their carport for the next 21 days.
Keri Amorosa saw the couple in action and was amazed at what they accomplished. Her husband, Dominic, volunteered in the neighborhood and always returned home with food the couple gave him. Keri also went to the area after the flood to help her friend clean out her house.
“Everyday that I went, the Redds would deliver us lunch,” she said. “They worked tirelessly for three weeks making sure everyone in the neighborhood and any volunteers that came to help had the necessary supplies and food to get work done. It was truly the most amazing display of kindness I had ever seen.”