00:00 We begin with the non-profit organization God's Pit Crew continuing to work to help
00:04 restore the community of Pond, south of Delano, after homes there were devastated by winter
00:09 rains and flooding.
00:11 23 ABC's Ruby Rivera has an update on that work, which the non-profit says will ensure
00:16 a positive quality of life for Pond residents.
00:20 One more week.
00:21 That's how long God's Pit Crew is expanding the project to ensure that Pond residents
00:25 get back on their feet and in their homes.
00:27 The decision comes after God's Pit Crew realized more work still needs to be done and they
00:32 tell me they're not leaving until all four homes are completely restored.
00:36 God's Pit Crew, Chris Childs, he'll be back out on the 7th of August and he'll be back
00:43 with another rejuvenated crew of workers to finish it off.
00:48 Volunteer with God's Pit Crew, Russell Bilberry, says at this point in the project, the goal
00:52 is to finish the week strong and get as much done as possible.
00:56 Every house with all new doors, all new, you know, the windows you see that they're going
01:00 in today, there's new roofs that have gone on.
01:04 All the interior should be finished out with cabinets, countertops, doors and new floors,
01:09 new bathroom fixtures.
01:11 All of those things will be done.
01:13 Bilberry says although this is the plan, a recent drop in volunteers has put them off
01:17 track a bit.
01:18 We're hoping to see, you know, ending this week, we'd like to have all the plumbing fixtures
01:22 in and be in a position where we can start to have pretty much a full functioning house.
01:29 They're now down to 15 volunteers compared to 70 earlier in the week.
01:33 Immediate Disaster Response Coordinator for God's Pit Crew, Miles Willer, says their biggest
01:38 issue so far is trying to match up tasks with volunteers.
01:42 Depending on what volunteers you have and what skill sets that they have, that's always
01:45 a little bit of a struggle because, you know, you might have somebody that is an electrician,
01:50 but they're not there when you're doing electrical work, you know, so that's always a little
01:53 bit of a struggle, but we've been getting it done.
01:56 Bilberry says they've painted and built new walls and roofs, with new countertops now
02:00 ordered but not yet installed.
02:02 Pond resident Bilquis Ubari says repairs to her home are almost completed and she is overjoyed
02:07 now that it's all coming together, but volunteers are still needed to finish the job.
02:12 We were able to get the walls, get the, you know, the letting, get it ready for the painting
02:19 and they did a lot.
02:21 It's a blessing and we're hoping we need some more volunteers because we still have a lot
02:25 of work.
02:26 There's still a lot of work to be done.
02:27 Bilberry says God's Pit Crew is an organization of their word, stating that when they start
02:31 a project, they intend to see it through.
02:34 He says he understands that not many people like to work in the heat and that people can
02:37 be busy, but donating even an hour of time is greatly appreciated.
02:41 And while they wait for more volunteers, he says God's Pit Crew is on standby, ready to
02:45 return for their final push.
02:48 If we, for whatever reason, the heat, the temperatures it gets in our way, we're still
02:52 not done.
02:54 So they'll be back for it and they've committed to doing that.
02:58 So they've made a commitment to this community and they're not going to abandon it.
03:01 Bilberry says coming back to the project after a week will allow workers to be well-rested.
03:06 It'll also give them time to regroup and determine how to utilize the labor that they already
03:10 have.
03:11 However, volunteers are still needed now more than ever, and information will be available
03:15 on our website at TurnTo23.com.
03:17 In Pond, Rubir Rivera, 23ABC News, Connecting You.
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