Summary
In the first edition of the Hub’s “From the Field" series, hear directly from Sydney Dyck, a PhD student on CHEER's households thrust, as she offers a glimpse into her travels to Houston, Texas, where she worked alongside The Restoration Team, one of the Hub’s community partners. This collaboration was focused on conducting surveys of past TRT clients who had received home repairs following disasters.
Sydney Dyck is a fourth–year PhD student in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on the impact of disasters on mental health.
In early October, I traveled to Houston to work with Trevor Barnett and David Castillo from The Restoration Team. Over two days, we drove to the homes of 11 former and current TRT clients to interview residents and gather data on home repairs resulting from past hazard events. Trevor, David, and I collected this information using an online questionnaire that could be distributed via iPad.
The questionnaire was created in collaboration with CHEER team members and TRT, and was designed to capitalize on blue-sky times to get a better picture of the housing repair needs of Houstonians following various disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey, Winter Storm Uri, and Hurricane Beryl.
The questionnaire included questions about when the repairs were completed, what repairs were made, and which storm(s) caused the damage. These questions, combined with being able to connect with these people in their homes, allowed us to document any needed repairs. These ranged from flooring damaged by the last few storms to exterior siding damage. TRT is very diligent about delivering high-quality work after storms, but other factors, like water damage and termites, can quickly erode progress made after disasters. We also asked clients about their insurance status, health needs and disabilities, and considerations for relocation. The majority of clients said they would not relocate, despite the disasters they had experienced, often citing that there would be other natural hazards to consider wherever they went.
Many of the people we interviewed connected with TRT after Hurricanes Harvey (2017) and Beryl (2024) and Winter Storm Uri (2021). When I saw Trevor and David engaging with their previous clients, it was like watching old friends getting together. These long-standing, close relationships show just how embedded the TRT is in their community. This familiarity is one of the main reasons the Hub can gather data and get a boots-on-the-ground perspective of what’s happening in our case study areas.
After Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, the Restoration Team worked with many families across the Houston area to rebuild their damaged homes. (Photo Courtesy of The Restoration Team)
This two-day visit to The Restoration Team in Houston is just one part of our collaboration with the organization. The work we do together helps fuel Hub research and connects to broader CHEER concepts, such as household decision-making, compounding damage, relocation, and insurance. Thanks to a seed grant from the Hub, David and Trevor plan to continue gathering data to assess more clients. This start-up funding has allowed TRT to gain a broader understanding of clients’ needs now and of the effectiveness of the repairs they have provided in the past. David and Trevor plan to present an overview of this project at the in-person CHEER meeting in April 2026.
To learn more about The Restoration Team and their work, visit their website or read their feature in the Hub’s Spring 2025 Partner Perspective column.
