06/17/2026
"Celebrate, Check In, and Reach Out"
As Fourth of July approaches, Kerr County partners are encouraging residents to celebrate, check in, and reach out. This Fourth of July will carry more than one meaning in Kerr County. It will be a time for celebration, as communities across the country mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. It will also mark one year since the flooding that changed lives, homes, landscapes, and families across Kerr County.
Several commemoration events are planned in the coming weeks, and local leaders encourage residents to choose what feels right for themselves and their families.
For some residents, the commemoration may bring sadness, anxiety, anger, irritability, exhaustion, grief, gratitude, numbness, or a mix of many feelings at once. Others may feel ready to move forward, may not want to talk about the flood, or may feel that enough time has passed. All of those responses can exist in the same community at the same time.
Local mental health, recovery, and community partners want residents to know that healing does not happen on one schedule. Wanting to celebrate the Fourth of July is understandable. Wanting to move on is understandable. Still hurting is understandable too.
"The one-year mark following a mass tragedy is often mistakenly thought of as a turning point," said Julie Kaplow, PhD, Executive Director of the Trauma and Grief Center at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. "But grief does not adhere to a calendar, and there is no deadline for healing."
In smaller communities, people often carry a great deal on their own. In the weeks surrounding the anniversary, the Kerr Together Emotional and Spiritual Care Group encourages residents to check in with themselves, their families, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. A simple question — "Y'all OK?" — can open the door without forcing a hard conversation.
Residents can help by calling or texting one person, sharing a cup of coffee, keeping routines simple, maintaining regular meals, sleep, work, school, church, and daily activities, spending time outdoors, and taking breaks from stressful news or social media. Community members are also encouraged to be patient with themselves and others, as emotional reactions can appear unexpectedly and people may process experiences differently.
Help is available locally. New Hope Counseling Center provides professional, evidence-based, trauma-informed counseling in English and Spanish for children age six and older, teens, adults, seniors, couples, and families. Services address grief and loss, trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, anger management, veterans' issues, and other needs. Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurance plans are accepted. Sliding-scale and no-cost sessions are currently available for those impacted by the flood. A bilingual Community Health Navigator is also available to help connect residents with additional community resources. New Hope can be reached at 830-257-3009 or www.newhopecounselingtx.org.
The Hill Country Council on Alcohol and Drug Awareness also encourages anyone who may be using alcohol or drugs to cope with flood-related emotions to reach out for support. HCCADA can be reached at 830-367-4667 Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon, or at www.hccada.org.
Additional crisis, counseling, and care navigation resources include Light on the Hill Mental Health Navigator Kasey Garcia at 830-343-0187 or [email protected]; Children's Bereavement Center at 830-699-0750 or www.cbcst.org; The Ecumenical Center at www.ecrh.org; the Lucine Center for Trauma and Grief at 832-244-9502 or lucinecenter.com; Hill Country MHDD Crisis Line at 877-466-0660; the National Su***de and Crisis Lifeline at 988; and the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
As Kerr County gathers for Independence Day, community partners are asking residents to make room for both remembrance and celebration. Check on someone. Let someone check on you. And if you need help, let someone you trust know or engage with any of the services listed. For more information about upcoming commemoration events, resources, or community services, visit www.kerrtogether.com or call 281-321-1122.
