When Vendors Become Neighbors: Eyewitness’s Response to Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey is already being called an “unprecedented” storm “beyond anything experienced” by our National Weather Service. It’s been twelve years since the United States weathered a major hurricane like Hurricane Rita — and that storm never hit Texas directly. We here at the Eyewitness Surveillance headquarters in Hanover, Maryland, could only watch as flood waters rose to engulf homes, businesses, and even lives. We wanted to take a moment today to review the status of how Hurricane Harvey has impacted Eyewitness, and to offer what support we can for those enduring the unthinkable.

The Status of Eyewitness Employees

Several Eyewitness employees live with their families in Texas. Thankfully, all report that they’re safe and sound, though they continue to watch the situation on behalf of our clients and their loved ones.

One Texas-based inside sales representative posted pictures of what is now downtown Houston, drowning in what she calls “unprecedented” flood waters.

Inside Sales Rep Harvey Houston pic
Inside Sales Rep Harvey Houston pic

The Status of Eyewitness Clients

We have several clients in the impacted Houston area and in Texas more broadly. According to our Vice President of Security Operations, Dave Snyder, as of Monday morning, no monitored sites are currently underwater. Luckily, he said, “most of our dealership clients put their car lots on more elevated ground.”

One client has requested Eyewitness for extra emergency monitoring to deter possible looters during this crisis, and we’ve been more than happy to do that for them.

How to Help

If you’re in the impacted area:

  • Stay safe. Don’t put your own safety at risk, because odds are that you’ll become another person to rescue, rather than helping the overall effort.
  • Prepare for more water. Weather forecasts and controlled releases from upstream dams will add to the flood before it begins to recede.

If you’re in the broader Texas-Louisiana area:

  • Volunteer. Offer your skills (or your boat) to help rescue efforts currently underway. You can also volunteer at shelters to help them process and settle the thousands of people trying to come in out of the rain.
  • Donate goods to local shelters, especially nonperishable items. One of our employees received word from a friend on the ground that diapers, baby formula, sheets, and towels are some of the most requested items at shelters right now.

If you’re watching from afar:

  • Donate funds to an organization you trust with “boots on the ground” in the Texas-Louisiana area. (If you’re not sure, NOLA.com has a list of charities and organizations which are directly contributing to the Hurricane Harvey effort.)
  • Remember this storm, and ensure your support doesn’t waiver from these victims in the months (and years) that recovery will require. Also, support future initiatives that will enable better responses to disasters like these.

A Word from Rush McCloy, our CEO

At a time like this, it’s not about client-vendor relationships, or employee-employer relationships. That all goes out the window during crises. We have a moral obligation to help those impacted in any way we can. For our employees down there, we make sure their first priority is on their families and staying safe. For our clients, that means we work harder to ensure their safety.

We need to check our business at the door when disaster hits. That means that when an emergency like this happens, we don’t put clients in a bad positionwe help however we can. We need to not be “vendor” and “client.” We need to be neighbors, who help those neighbors in need.

We like to think of ourselves as partners with our clients. It’s times like these when we prove that we are.

Stay safe, everyone.


Originally published at Eyewitness Surveillance.

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Eyewitness Surveillance

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We stop theft before it happens through cutting-edge live video surveillance and sophisticated analytics with the best people in the business.

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