Our Response to the Central Texas Flooding
In light of the recent catastrophic flooding in central Texas, our Institute is mobilizing the Greater Houston Healing Collaborative (GHHC). The situation today is dire, with over 100 fatalities of children and adults. Thousands of families have been adversely affected physically, mentally, and spiritually. There is presently and will continue to be a significant need for psychosocial and spiritual trauma response in Kerr County and across the State of Texas.
The Collaborative is responding in the following ways:
We are coordinating with the Kerr County Office of Emergency Response and local officials to establish groups and workshops at shelters, schools, and faith communities in Kerr and surrounding counties, led by GHHC facilitators.
In addition, we are launching a response in the Greater Houston area to support affected individuals and families.
A virtual support group open to anyone impacted by this event.
A bereavement group dedicated to those who have lost loved ones in the floods.
In-person support groups, held at the Institute and in partner venues. (More info coming soon)
A community vigil was held at The Rothko Chapel on Tuesday, July 15.
Digital assets to support trauma-informed grief support among family and friends. (Asset 1 & Asset 2)
The GHHC was established in 2017, following Hurricane Harvey, to deliver a swift and effective psychosocial response to disaster-related trauma. Since that time, our network of over 120 facilitators has impacted more than 60,000 individuals, including during the pandemic, school shootings, and major flood events.
As we mobilize our team, we are seeking financial support to cover the costs associated with travel, lodging, response coordination, and facilitator stipends. Our initial goal is to raise $20,000 to sustain this response.
If you have the capacity to support this work, please click the button below to make a donation. If you would like to deepen your connection to the Institute and this work, or to make a more significant gift outside of PayPal, please reach out to Stuart Nelson - snelson@ish-tmc.org.
Together, we can provide a swift, effective, and compassionate response to mitigate the effects of trauma resulting from this terrible tragedy.