Volunteers of all shapes and sizes have flocked to the Hill Country.
KERR COUNTY, Texas — It has now been over two weeks since the devastating Hill Country flooding. The search and rescue turned recovery, has now become support for all of those affected.
That support isn’t just for those who lost loved ones, family members and friends. But also the rest of the Hill Country, all of the volunteers, and people that didn’t have the ability to turn away from so much attention on a tragedy that reached the entire nation.
For many, emotional support has been a godsend. Dr. Ashlee Miller, the Senior Director of Clinical Care for Hill Country MHDD told KENS 5, “We have a lot going on right now in the community. So we wanted to create a space for people to feel like they can come in and have a cup of coffee, talk to us. They can come in and just have a calming area for quiet time.”
Hill Country MHDD is launching their emotional support center on Water Street. You can even lend a hand in supporting the town and all of the volunteers by using your actual handprint in paint.
Tyler Townsend, a mental health peer specialist for Hill Country MHDD, added, “They had asked me to come on to create a mural that can be something that highlights our new emotional support center. And I wanted to create something because I know a lot of people during this time feel like they can’t contribute. There’s nothing that they feel like they can do meaningful to give back to the community, whether it be from loss or struggling with their own personal traumas.”
First responders flocked to the Hill Country as word about the devastation spread. Not just from around the country, but outside the borders too.
Dr. Emily Kidd, the medical director of the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force said, “There are responders from all over the country, urban search and rescue folks and urban search and rescue teams from all over the country have come in to help. we have a dog team from Mexico that’s been very helpful.”
And the volunteer spirit spread across the Hill Country, with the epicenter at volunteer headquarters at Antler Stadium. Deborah Quintero, a volunteer from Fresno told us, “People from all over. California. Florida. (flash frame) Like nurses and everything. I mean, it’s just regular people. So just regular people saying I don’t care what I do, I just want to do something.”