Almost one year after the July 4, 2025, flood that reshaped communities across Kerr County and the surrounding areas, The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country announced significant progress in housing recovery efforts, reporting that 130 households have returned to permanent housing and another 98 are actively working toward permanent housing solutions.
The announcement came during a press conference in Kerrville’s newly developed Mariposa neighborhood, where recovery efforts were showcased as a visible example of the community’s rebuilding progress.
Standing among newly completed homes, Community Foundation CEO Austin Dickson reflected on the impact of the disaster and the work accomplished since.
“Nearly one year ago, the July 4 flood changed lives across Kerr County, the Texas Hill Country, our state and the world,” Dickson said. “The flood took lives. It damaged homes, it destroyed businesses, and it left many, many families uncertain about what the future would hold.”
In the aftermath of the disaster, the Community Foundation launched the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund to support long-term recovery efforts. Since then, the organization has distributed $82 million in grants across housing, mental health services, economic recovery, environmental restoration and community rebuilding projects.
Dickson said housing has remained the foundation’s top priority, accounting for 43% of all grant funding distributed.
“Housing has been our single largest investment because housing is the foundation upon which every other aspect of recovery depends,” he said. “When people have a safe and stable place to live, they can return to work. They can get their children back on routines. They can focus on their health again, their mental health and begin rebuilding a normal life.”
The foundation reported that more than 180 families, representing more than 400 individuals, have also received temporary housing assistance through local homes, apartments and Airbnb rentals, with housing expenses covered for up to 12 months.
Dickson credited much of the recovery progress to the work of 32 disaster case managers who have guided families through complex housing decisions over the past year.
“What we have learned in less than a year of disaster recovery is that recovery works best when communities create multiple pathways home,” Dickson said. “The story we are sharing today is not about a single housing program. It is about a coordinated system of recovery that the Community Foundation has designed that is survivor and family-centric.”
He emphasized that recovery efforts have focused on providing individualized solutions, including temporary housing, home repairs, RV replacement, mobile home replacement and down-payment assistance.
“Most importantly, when we talk about numbers or households, ultimately we’re talking about people,” Dickson said. “They are our neighbors. They are our friends and family. And they are rebuilding their lives.”
Resident Wilbur Vance is one of those neighbors who is rebuilding his life.
After seeing the water quickly approach him on the morning of July 4 and seeing firefighters save his chickens, his home was devastated. Hearing that he would be receiving a case worker to help him get back on his feet felt like a sigh of relief.
He moved into his new home on June 12, just less than a year after the flood, and couldn’t be more thankful to the foundation for its help.
“Excellent coordination, good project managers, carpenters and contractors under them did a good job,” Vance said. “Case workers did real well and kept us informed on every avenue of financial help.”
Jake Eickhoff, construction manager for Habitat for Humanity of Kerr County, highlighted the impact of collaborative rebuilding efforts. Over the past 10 months, he has helped oversee the construction and completion of 30 homes for flood survivors.
“In my observation, recovery becomes real when a family receives the keys to their new home, and they walk through the front door for the first time, and they begin to feel a sense of normalcy,” Eickhoff said.
He noted that organizations including Habitat for Humanity, All Hands and Hearts, the Hunt Preservation Society and numerous volunteers have worked together to meet a wide range of housing needs.
“We have quickly learned that no two recovery journeys are alike,” Eickhoff said. “What made this work successful was not any one single organization. It was the willingness of partners to coordinate resources and focus on what each individual family needed.”
Eickhoff pointed to the homes surrounding the Mariposa neighborhood as evidence of that success.
“The homes surrounding us are more than construction projects,” he said. “They represent stability, independence and a chance for families to finally move forward.”
David Long, president of the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation, said recovery efforts have succeeded because families were given options rather than being forced into a single solution.
“One of the biggest lessons that we learn from disaster recovery is that there is no single housing solution that works for every family,” Long said. “Successful recovery means creating options and allowing families to choose the path that works best for them.”
Long said those options have included home repairs, rebuilding programs, temporary housing assistance, RV replacement, mobile home replacement and down-payment assistance for qualifying families.
“Housing recovery is strongest when communities focus not only on rebuilding structures, but also creating long-term stability and affordability,” he said.
The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation partnered with the Community Foundation to provide down-payment assistance, helping 20 of the 130 households now back in permanent housing purchase new homes.
As the event concluded, Dickson reflected on the progress made during the past year while acknowledging that recovery work remains ongoing.
“A year ago, I stood at this podium, and I said that I don’t think people are ready for the power and the results that philanthropy can achieve in disaster recovery,” Dickson said. “And here we are one year later, when families a year ago did not know whether they would return home or what recovery would look like, and today, a majority of flood-affected households in our community are home again.”
He stressed that housing represents more than shelter.
“Housing is safety, it’s security, it’s stability, it’s routine,” Dickson said. “Housing is a fundamental building block of a community’s recovery.”
While celebrating the milestone, Dickson said the work is far from complete.
“The flood happened in a day, but recovery will take years, and we will stand here every day until recovery is complete and the work is finished,” he said.
Following the press conference, attendees toured homes in the Mariposa neighborhood and met with homeowners whose recovery journeys illustrate the community’s ongoing path toward rebuilding.
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