Kelly Hagemeier, disaster program manager for Kerr Together, updated the Hill Country Community Journal last week on the progress made and the remaining challenges in providing help and guidance for flood victims in this area through the Kerr Together office.
“Initially we had about 100 private roads in the county with damage. Residents of those areas reached out to Kerr Together for help initially. Two local contractors were gracious enough to help, Armour Construction and McDermott Construction, with the road issues,” Hagemeier said.
The biggest challenge, she said, was providing individual assistance needed to flood victims.
“We had several disaster case managers from last year who have stepped up to help again this year. We have about one thousand new individuals who need help and the non-profit Connective (from Houston) that helps with these kinds of events is in the process of hiring more case managers to work long-term with this year’s flood victims,” Hagemeier said. Connective was formed after Hurricane Harvey. They are funded locally by The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.
Beth Palmer from Light on the Hill is the local coordinator of the disaster case managers.
“We have some of the victims of last year’s flood serving as case managers for this year’s flood victims. They see it as a way to ‘pay it forward’ for the help they received after the July 2025 flood disaster,” Hagemeier said.
Michelle Bruninga with Annie’s Helping Hands, a nonprofit headquartered in Center Point, has been helping coordinate help for people with private road damage in the Center Point area. Free gravel and caliche are available in that area for people who have the ability to haul it themselves to their private road location.
“There’s still a lot of cleanup that needs to be done, but luckily the things that were planted along the river, most of it survived,” Hagemeier noted. Several nonprofits and groups have committed to restore the riparian areas along the river to prevent further erosion and restore the trees and vegetation on the riverbanks.
Hagemeier said anyone who has large amounts of gravel that they might like to donate to help with the private roads should contact Kerr Together, and they will keep a list of people willing to donate.
“The key to helping will be available funding that may become available and finding certified contractors with equipment, operators, and materials needed,” Hagemeier stressed.
“We are still having conversations about the need for mental health services. People need to take a deep breath and seek available mental health resources. MHDD and other mental health providers are ready to help flood victims, first responders, and anyone else impacted by what has happened the past two years,” Hagemeier said.
The concept of “neighbor helping neighbor” has become more important as time has passed, and now we are no longer in the media spotlight. Many of the nonprofit organizations that came to help recover and rebuild have now moved on to other disaster areas, and funding for those nonprofits has, in some cases, run out.
KEDC and Kerr Together will launch a “Love Where You Live” campaign, probably in September, which will encourage people to buy locally and more fully support the local economy as the community continues to recover and rebuild from the two years of disaster that have struck our area.
For more information or to seek help with flood recovery issues, contact Kerr Together at (830) 315-1002 or stop by 98 Coronado for help in finding resources. Kerr County Commissioners’ Court and the Kerrville City Council designated Kerr Together Long-Term Recovery Group the official disaster relief organization and center.
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