KERRVILLE, Texas – A few of the families displaced by the July 4 floods in Kerr and Kendall Counties are expected to be back in their homes in time for the holidays, thanks to an ongoing rebuilding effort led by Habitat for Humanity Kerr County.
The nonprofit received $3 million to repair or rebuild 40 homes damaged in the flooding. To move as quickly as funding and supplies allow, Habitat for Humanity has been paying contractors.
Jay Eickhoff, disaster recovery construction manager for Habitat for Humanity Kerr County, offered KSAT a walkthrough of two of the homes under repair.
Eickhoff is no stranger to disaster himself. He’s also a flood victim from a different natural disaster. That experience, he said, shaped the way he connects with the people he’s helping now.
“It’s completely humbling to hear their stories. You really connect with them. Some of them, they feel like family,” he said.
Habitat for Humanity Kerr County’s goal is to have 12 homes rebuilt or repaired by the end of the year. The homes Eickhoff showed us are in a senior mobile home community.
“The goal was to try to be able to get her in by Christmas,” Eickhoff said of one of the victims’ homes. “This one clearly will not be done. We have one, three houses over, that will absolutely be done by Christmas.”
But supply and trade delays have created new challenges.
“Now my biggest challenge is really cabinets,” Eickhoff said. “So when you get into repairing a home, things that take a long time. Cabinetmaking is one of those things. So that’s a big delay on why we can’t get a lot of people in by Christmas.”
Habitat for Humanity Kerr County is seeking help from companies experienced in plumbing, electrical work, or cabinetmaking to meet its rebuilding goals more quickly. Businesses interested in assisting can contact the organization at 830-792-4844.