Letter from the President and CEO August 2025

Dear Reader,

On July 4, shortly after our last newsletter went out, the catastrophic Central Texas flood claimed at least 135 lives and caused billions of dollars in damage. While it is difficult to make sense of tragedies of this magnitude, the Institute has done all it can to hold space for those who have been impacted as they reckon with the pangs of grief, disorientation, and the stress response. Though there is no shortage of distracting items in the news cycle, it is essential to remember that the work of healing is only just beginning.

Drawing on lessons learned from numerous natural disasters and the pandemic, our integrated, trauma-informed, psychosocial response has unfolded in both Central Texas and Houston. Here in Houston, we worked with The Rothko Chapel to host a community vigil, and we immediately launched two flood-specific support groups to hold space for those who have been affected. In Kerr County, we have deployed a team of seasoned staff and Greater Houston Healing Collaborative facilitators to work with community leaders as recovery efforts unfold. We have formed strong partnerships with St. Peter's Episcopal Church, more than 15 other churches supporting clergy and families, several schools in Hunt ISD, and the recovery community. These kinds of bonds are essential in the context of such tragedy - several of these faith communities lost multiple parishioners, and in one case, 27.

Our vision is to build capacity to support resilience-building groups, workshops, and the dissemination of evidence-based tools to help address trauma now and far into the future. To learn more about this work and to contribute, please visit our flood response landing page.

As I wrote in a Houston Chronicle letter to the editor, every day, “we must remind each other of the indomitable power of the human spirit.” In doing so, we are tapping into an essential aspect of being human, and one that helps us move through suffering towards wholeness.

Warmly,
Stuart

Stuart C. Nelson
President and CEO
Loise Henderson Wessendorff Chair