KERR COUNTY, Texas — A nonprofit group is set up to help residents of Kerr County navigate yet another flood recovery, but this time with limited resources.
“There’s so many people who have lived in their home for generations and never had an issue,” said Kelly Hagemeier, program manager for Kerr Together. “Because it’s been a dry creek bed for the last 50 years.”
The long-term recovery group, Kerr Together, was established after the 2025 flood that killed 119 people in the county. The resource center has the infrastructure to respond to another disaster, just one year later.
“We live right there in the corner…I’m barely…” said one distraught neighbor.
“It’s okay,” responded Hagemeier. “Here, come inside, and they will help you get set up.”
Hagemeier said some folks don’t even know where to start.
“We get their information, and then we take them back so they can actually put their information into the [Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool],” Hagemeier said.
She’s finding the time to help neighbors, even though her family was also affected by this recent flood.
“My house actually ended up flooding, but I ended up with 6 inches just from street flooding,” Hagemeier said. “Because we had so much rain in such a short amount of time.”
More than 600 homes in Kerrville and over 100 in the town of Ingram were damaged in the July 2026 flood. The Kerr Together team says it’s important that residents agree to share their information when doing the damage surveys.
“I would like those resources, then that puts them into the next steps, which is where we can connect them,” Hagemeier said. “Do you need tarping? Do you need chainsaw work? Do you need heavy equipment? Are you looking for muck and gut? Is it general cleanup?”
With more widespread flooding across the region, the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country released $18 million toward flood relief. Kerr Together is benefiting from that gift.
“There’s emergency response funding that we have our case managers working through,” Hagemeier said. “So that these families can get immediate financial assistance.”
Hagemeier said there is also funding for long-term housing and small businesses.
“Resources are more limited,” Hagemeier said. “Whether it be funding resources and physical volunteers also. And so, our response is a little bit slower. But we know the steps this time. And we know how to get from point A to point Z this time.”
Although there isn’t an abundance of donations in 2026, there is still help for those affected.
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