KERRVILLE, TEXAS — The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has awarded $5 million in grants to 15 nonprofit organizations and pledged an additional $10 million over the next two years to expand long-term mental health support for survivors and first responders of the July 4, 2025 floods in Kerr County. The funding announcement comes as the one-year anniversary of the disaster approaches.

Grant recipients span the state to help ensure counseling is available where survivors live, including in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin and Midland-Odessa. Many people who were in the Texas Hill Country during the July 4, 2025 holiday were visiting from outside the region.

"The foundation's strategy is influenced by lessons learned from the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, where recovery has taken years," said Austin Dickson. He also pointed to responders who traveled to the disaster zone from elsewhere in the state. "They've also had first responders from Midland and Odessa who came to Kerr County, who rescued people out of the river, and 10 months later are having triggering events, PTSD, and are having a hard time," Dickson said.

The foundation has a partnership with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute in Dallas. That partnership outlines four priorities: raising awareness about available services; expanding trauma and grief training for community professionals; improving access through key entry points such as schools; and providing treatment for specialized groups, including first responders.

The foundation warns that anniversaries and community events can trigger renewed trauma in survivors. Counselors said warning signs of renewed trauma can include isolation or feelings of hopelessness, and they are also concerned about relapse among people who struggle with chemical dependency as the anniversary approaches.

New Hope Counseling Services in Kerrville is among the groups receiving grant funding from the foundation. Counselors there have been helping residents process trauma since the July 2025 flood and are seeing more people seek help months later for anxiety, depression and other emotions.

"Generally, around the six to nine-month time period is when the symptoms really set in because the impacted person's immediate needs have been met," said Karen Mattox, a licensed professional counselor. "They're shelter, clothing, food. And so they've kind of settled into a new normal. And then that's when the impact," she said.

Ray Gutierrez, a licensed chemical dependency counselor, said emotions tend to resurface at public observances. "Clients should expect emotions to surface again, particularly around community gatherings and remembrance events," Gutierrez said. "One of the biggest things is that accepting things doesn't mean that I like it, but accepting means this is the way it is," he said. "It would benefit me to find a way how to live with it instead of denying it and stuffing it because that becomes more detrimental to your mental and physical health," he added.

People affected by the floods or the recovery can contact New Hope Counseling Services at 830-257-3009 for support.