A stretch of Southeast D.C. remains frozen solid days after Sunday’s snowstorm, leaving many seniors unable to get out of their homes. But a group of young volunteers known as D.C.’s Snow Team Heroes is going door to door to help dig them out.
Among them was 14‑year‑old Rodriguez Norman Jr., who said he’s spent the last few days doing whatever he can to help his neighbors.
“I’ve just been outside, especially with some of my friends out here, just shoveling snow,” he said.
The work is anything but easy. The storm left behind thick, stubborn layers of ice that require more than just a plastic shovel to break up.
Trying to explain the challenge to younger volunteers, Rodriguez demonstrated how to tackle it:
“You use a big shovel to help you break up the ice and all that, and use the big shovel to get everything that broke off away,” he said.
His father, Rodriguez “Rodney” Norman Sr., supervised the group gathered on Brothers Place in Southeast D.C. and said the youth effort is intentional and necessary.
“We’ve been empowering our young people to dig out the community, so to speak. We’re starting off with our elders, right? Because we do understand a lot of our elders don’t have the capacity to dig themselves out,” Rodney said.
The Snow Team Heroes’ effort is happening across the city.
Steve Walker, deputy chief of staff to Mayor Muriel Bowser, told WTOP the city has deployed over 500 Heroes so far with this recent storm.
“We have people who are both dedicated to our community, to their neighbors,” Walker said. “Because it’s a neighbor-by-neighbor project, we try to match people with homes in their neighborhood relatively close that they can walk to.”
For 37-year-old Rodney, helping this particular Southeast D.C. street holds personal meaning.
“I was born and raised on this actual street, Brothers Place,” he said.
As the young volunteers chip through the ice, they scoop away the loose chunks and then spread salt to keep the walkways safe. And, according to Rodney, the people they help don’t hide their appreciation.
“It’s so much love. It’s so it’s so many hugs,” he said.
And while the job is grueling, young Rodriguez said helping his neighbors who can’t do it themselves is worth it: “It feels good,” he said.
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Young Snow Team Heroes dig out seniors trapped behind icy sidewalks in DC
