$40 million to support long-term housing relief for Hill Country flood victims

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(The Center Square) – More than $40 million of donated funds will support long-term housing relief for Hill Country flood victims, the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country announced with Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday.

After the July 4 flood that wiped away or seriously damaged homes in Kerrville, Hunt, Ingram and surrounding communities in the Hill Country, individuals and businesses from all over the country donated to the Community Foundation. More than $15 million of that money has already been dispersed. Another $40 million in grants is being made available to help local residents whose homes were washed away or seriously damaged.

“There are so many people who are displaced … who lost their home, people who don't have a place to live, people who are waiting to get back into their homes,” Abbott said a news conference in Kerrville Thursday afternoon. “And we need to really feel the pain that they are struggling, knowing that they have to get back into their home. … We have donors, so many generous people here in the state of Texas who have supported that effort and they [want] to make sure those dollars are going to be used to get those people back into their homes.”

Abbott said residents who lost their permanent residence in the region “are not only going to be able to have that permanent residence fully rebuilt, but rebuilt at record speed.” Construction projects going on now are made possible “because of the charitable donations that have been provided,” he said.

A local response was more efficient than waiting on the federal government, he said. When Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area in 2017 causing $125 billion worth of damage, “there were literally hundreds of thousands of homes that were impacted and destroyed,” Abbott said. Damages were “far more than what charitable contributions would be able to pay for. As a result, [relief efforts] got stuck” in a federal bureaucratic quagmire. The FEMA and HUD process took years to help people with housing or into a permanent residence, he said.

The local grant process will ensure that “people of this community will not be going through that experience,” he said. Locals would be “back in homes this month,” even next month, he said. Not only was a record amount of money donated for residents, but Abbott said homeowners who have a home to return to would return at “a record speed.” 

Community Foundation CEO Austin Dickson said dispersing the $40 million in funds was “about restoring stability, dignity and hope for families. Whatever home looks like, a rebuilt home, a repaired RV or a safe temporary apartment, this fund will help families get home.”

He also said that in the first 45 days of this recovery, the Community Foundation allocated $16 million to more than 50 local nonprofit organizations working directly with flood survivors. The support helped more than 700 families with emergency assistance, more than 200 small businesses, 17 volunteer fire departments, and two public school districts, including Hunt and Ingram, he said. The grants funded temporary housing, groceries and food, replacing a car, funeral costs, cleanup expenses and counseling. Every dollar has helped flood victims stabilize and take that first step forward on the road to recovery,” he said. 

The $40 million in funds will be allocated geographically, based on needs assessments and state and federal disaster data. Applicants are required to fill out a needs assessment form at RebuildKerr.org.

The foundation also made a $1.6 million grant to Airbnb.org, the nonprofit charity arm of the online vacation rental marketplace, Airbnb.com, to make short-term housing available to local families.

Cristoph Gorder, executive director of Airbnb.org, said the charity was launched about five years ago “to help leverage the Airbnb platform of millions of Airbnbs around the world to house people in times of need.

Gorder said the funds will help the families in need but also small business owners who rely on tourism who’ve been impacted by the flood devastation.

Abbott said the state has spent well over $200 million on initial emergency response and recovery operations. The legislature is voting on a relief package allocating another $200 million, he said.