Hill Country nonprofit pledges $40 million to help rebuild flood victims’ homes

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A Hill Country nonprofit announced Thursday that it’s pledging $40 million to help rebuild homes in Kerr County, the grief-stricken community hit the hardest by the July 4 weekend flash floods that devastated neighborhoods, summer camps and RV parks.

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has pledged the amount as the first step to its four-pronged recovery plan: rebuilding homes, supporting mental health, economic recovery, and reviving the area’s quality of life.

Community Foundation CEO Austin Dickson said the organization is starting with housing efforts “because rebuilding a safe, stable place to call home is at the heart of recovery …. This is more than bricks and lumber.

“Whether it's a rebuilt house, a repaired RV or a safe temporary apartment, this fund will help families get home,” he later added.

Dickson spoke alongside Gov. Greg Abbott and Hill Country leaders from a park in Kerrville — most of the 137 Central Texas flood victims died in Kerr County. The park is about a 30-minute drive from Camp Mystic, where 27 campers and counselors died in the flood that struck in the early morning hours on July 4.

Tightening camp safety and securing relief funding are among the highest priorities of state lawmakers this special legislative session, Abbott said.

In Austin, the Texas House on Thursday passed six bills related to flood and disaster relief, including a proposal to set aside hundreds of millions of state dollars to fund recovery efforts.

While lawmakers are discussing flood relief and response at a statewide level, Dickson said local leaders are doing what they can to jump start the recovery process. The Community Foundation on Thursday also announced that it has created a local advisory council made up of community members who will “guide funding decisions.” It didn’t release the names of the members Thursday.

Hunt ISD Superintendent Luci Harmon said rebuilding homes will help students, whose first day of the school year was Wednesday, get back to some sense of normalcy.

“Our students thrive when their housing situation is under control — when they're in their homes and their homes are stable,” she said.

The Community Foundation has also allocated $1.6 million to covering short-term housing for flood victims through AirBnB’s nonprofit, AirBnB.org, so families have a place to stay while their houses get rebuilt.

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