The Hunt Preservation Society’s home rebuilding project, which assisted in rebuilding more than 40 homes in Hunt damaged by the July 4, 2025, flood,
has received a new grant from The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country to expand the program to 40 more homes destroyed or damaged by the July 16, 2026, flooding in both Hunt and Ingram.
Lisa Field, director of home repair and community allocations committee chair, said the extension of the program was welcome.
“That second flood hit, and it was like a kick in the teeth for so many,” Field said. “We were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel (after the 2025 flood), and then that happened.”
The community allocations committee has been part of the Hunt Preservation Society since 2025, though the committee was not originally connected to one organization.
“We were just a group of about seven women,” Field said. “We knew each other. We were all friends. And after the July 4 flooding … I wanted to use my God-given skills, use my strengths to help people. And that’s organizing. That’s creating programs and processes and getting people together.”
Field, along with six other women, formed the committee and initially focused on providing emergency funding for residents’ needs. Soon after, the committee realized they could expand their efforts by joining together with the Hunt Preservation Society.
“John Dunn, who is the president of Hunt Preservation Society and also the owner of the Hunt Store, has been instrumental in pushing that forward. Especially in the early days,” Field said, referring to the famous store that the 2025 flooding destroyed.
Under the umbrella of the Hunt Preservation Society, Field’s committee branched out from providing emergency relief to offering home repair.
“We were given a grant for home repair from the Community Foundation,” Field said. “That was 40 homes in Hunt. We were able to complete those in eight months.”
The completion of the homes in Hunt, as well as the devastation from the second flood in 2026, allowed the committee to apply for a new grant that would see 40 more homes built.
“We’re working in Ingram too, this time around,” Field said. The flooding on July 16 caused significant damage to homes in Ingram and into the city of Kerrville.
“Most of it hit in central Kerr County. Obviously, Hunt didn’t get hit as badly in the second flood,” she said. “But we still wanted to help.”
The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country approved the grant to the Hunt Preservation Society and the community allocations committee for $2 million. Those funds will now support a team of builders and contractors who will help to restore homes in the area.
“We’ve grown to about 12 full-time members on the home repair team,” Field said. “And then, of course, there are volunteers and contractors who help on the projects.”
According to Field, home repairs will be given to the group based on needs assessments residents have filled out through rebuildkerr.org.
“That’s where families get a case manager who finds out what they need,” Field said. “If they need housing, they connect with groups like ours. We know we’re being given 40 more houses. We don’t know the exact details yet.”
Those interested in getting home repair or rebuilding assistance from area non-profits can visit rebuildkerr.org and fill out a needs assessment on the site.
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