KERR COUNTY, Texas (TEXAS TRIBUNE) — During a rain storm that rolled into Kerr County one night last week, Austin Dickson, who lives near Kerrville, began receiving calls from concerned neighbors that water was rising downtown. They feared the conditions could become a repeat of the July 4 floods.
Dickson, who is also the CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, said his community is suffering from anxiety and PTSD, which mental health experts say are expected to surge this year.
“I mean, I’m also affected. I was here on July 4, and I remember the storm and the rain was coming down like that night. It brings back a sense of unease and anxiety for so many people,” said Dickson, whose foundation is helping with recovery efforts from last year’s flood. “Recovery is not only what we can see, and that is something we need to watch closely.”
After the devastating July 4 Hill Country floods that killed at least 137 people, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, the foundation partnered with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to conduct a rapid behavioral health needs assessment, the results of which were released last week. It predicts worsening mental health issues and demand for services across the region and the state.
“This identifies what the extra needs are going to be and how to use existing capacity and partnerships in San Antonio and Austin to build capacity,” said Andy Keller, CEO of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.
The assessment is based on interviews with more than 70 people in Kerr County who after the flood made contact with mental health services, including community leaders, county judges, health care workers, school districts, social workers, faith leaders, and summer camp staff.
Prior to the Hill Country floods, an estimated 380,000 Texas youth had a serious emotional disturbance, and 920,000 adults had post-traumatic stress disorder in 2023. Using post-disaster studies conducted after Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey, researchers estimate the direct and indirect exposure to stressors related to the July 4 flood, such as property damage, displacement, and the loss of family members or loved ones, will increase the number of children with serious emotional disturbance by 42,000 and adult PTSD cases by 190,000.
In Kerr County, the report estimates the July 4 flood quadrupled the number of youth who suffer from serious emotional disturbance to 2,000 and more than tripled the number of PTSD cases among adults to 6,200.
“The biggest direct impacts are going to be in Kerr County where people lost homes or were traumatized in other ways like having to hold onto a tree during the flood. But most of the people who died are outside of Kerr County, so we are going to have needs outside the area that are big, but not as concentrated as in Kerr County,” said Keller.
Keller said children’s mental health issues might show up as worsening ADHD or depression symptoms. They may experience ongoing academic disruption, behavioral challenges, and heightened family stress, particularly in response to significant life transitions or reminders of loss such as birthdays, graduations, or the July 4 holiday. Adults may face compounding pressures related to economic strain, unstable housing, and prolonged grief.
“This disaster has uniquely put a lot of children in a position to think and process feelings that a lot of other children have not had to deal with. For example, losing a sibling, losing a classmate, or even a child who may have seen something traumatic during the flood or experienced it themselves,” said Dickson.
The report states that at minimum, the mental health needs will remain high in Kerr County and across the state for at least three years, and in some cases, it can last up to 10 years after a disaster.
In response to the most recent findings, Community Foundation has given $1 million in grant commitments to partner organizations in Kerr County.
This investment will include three years of dedicated navigation services at religious organization Light on the Hill, expanded school-based counseling in the Hunt school district, and specialized support for helping mental health and grief professionals through a partnership with the Hummingly Foundation and the H.E. Butt Foundation.
The foundation has already set aside an additional $10 million for behavioral health issues which will support a mobile mental health app for Kerrville Police Department personnel and extend operations at Hill Country MHDD’s Emotional Support Drop-In Center for an additional year.
“These grants were just some initial investments aligned with the mental health needs assessment report, but we have a grant application that is open, and we are inviting organizations to apply for funding in those four categories,” Dickson said.
Dickinson said mental health resources in Kerr County are inadequate. He said there’s no outpatient mental health service nor does the county have a full time psychiatrist.
“Like a lot of rural communities, we don’t have a mental health infrastructure that you might find in Austin or San Antonio, so we have to rely on nonprofits and other providers to step up,” he said.
Dickson said that while philanthropic effort is a good start, long-term investment in mental health resources in Kerr County and the state is needed.
“I don’t know if philanthropy has the capacity, nor is it our lane, to fund a certain aspect of the health care system,” he said.
Disclosure: Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
