City hall honors for Houston's Harvey Heroes

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The rare sound of applause at Houston City Hall as several heroes were honored.

The honorees all came from different backgrounds and were all skilled in different areas, but when Hurricane Harvey struck, those differences were set aside and they united under one mission -- to help.

"This is a good day in the City of Houston," said Houston City Council member Jack Christie. "We thank you for what you've done."

A good day because Feb. 27 will now be remembered as Houston's Harvey Heroes Day, a proclamation made at Houston City Hall. It was there where the names of the honored heroes were read, each with a unique story to tell.

"We spent that first morning just pulling people out of their homes, boating into their homes and pulling people out," said Andrew White, who was one of the honorees.

And whether it was a rescue boat or some food that needed to be cooked, so many people responded to the cries for help.

"Firefighters were calling us, police officers and all of that, so we started feeding the first responders and the refugees, you know," said Saul Obrejon, who operates a food truck business in Houston.

The heroes were praised, even recognized for the work seen only on FOX 26 News.

"And last night, if you look at Channel 26, 98-year-old Mrs. Williams," said council member Christie. "They checked her home months ago. She didn't have anything. Totally wiped out. 98 years old, they interviewed her. Mr. Rogers and Trae and Gallery Furniture, they went in and gave her a whole new house."

"She got more energy than a child, like for real, for real," said rapper and philanthropist Trae Tha Truth. He and his Relief Gang partner DJ Mr. Rogers were among the five heroes honored.

Holly Hartman, a high school teacher, answered the call to help, literally, by taking calls for help during the floods, working 18 hours straight and relaying those locations to first responders and citizens aiding in rescues.

"It was just heart-wrenching to listen to those calls coming in," recalled Hartman. "They were explaining they were in water up to their waste or their chest. They were getting on their roofs."

The honors received not for them, so said each honoree, but rather for the city that's been through so much.

"I just don't feel like I did anything compared to what so many of these other people did," said Hartman.

And the work hasn't stopped. Relief Gang continues assisting people in need following Harvey. Of course, the city now has an initiative to log two million volunteer hours.

To help with Relief Gang, Click Here.

To help with the city's Houston Still Needs You initiative, Click Here.