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Keli Rabon, a Houston resident, sent her two boys to camp in Kerr County this year. They both survived the deadly and devastating Guadalupe River floods on July 4.
“My seven-year-old, Brock, fresh out of kindergarten, survived only because his teenage counselors lifted him from the bottom bunk to the top bunk and then put him into the rafters as the cabin fell apart," she explained. "My nine-year-old son, who had spent the last two summers in that very cabin, thank goodness, this year he was in a higher cabin up on the hill, but for 12 excruciating hours, he didn't know if his little brother was even alive.”
Rabon said her younger son has nightmares and struggles with anxiety because of what he experienced.
She also said that when she reached out for relief from FEMA and local agencies, they said they couldn't help because she wasn’t in the disaster area.
Rabon was among other survivors who joined state lawmakers this week in a press conference to demand that more aid reach everyone who was affected by the flooding.
"So my asks are simple: Gov. [Greg] Abbott, release emergency funds. Now, families are sleeping on couches and in motels, and people are going without the care that they need, and this delay is inexcusable," Rabon said. "Number two, make mental health care a core-funded part of disaster response."
State Rep. Armando Walle added that the "debris removal process is a traumatic experience ... when you see your life savings on the corner, your whole life's work on the corner, waiting to be picked up, and you have to see that on a daily basis, because it's not just you. It's all the neighbors around you that are having to do that."
Walle also said that the "governor [has] had long established budget execution power to transfer funds for urgent needs, and he's repeatedly refused to do that. Every day that passes is every day that he refuses. In his office—refuses to transfer any of those dollars using his statutory authority."
Kylie Niedever is a lifelong resident of Kerr County. She said she's thankful her childhood home was spared but she can't say the same for many of her neighbors.
"The damage is everywhere. Homes are ruined, lives are upended, and the trauma is real," she explained. "In the weeks since the flood, I've done everything I can to help my neighbors, hauling out soaked belongings, cleaning out homes, connecting people to resources. We're doing it ourselves because no one else is, and I mean that literally. I still haven't seen or heard from a single elected official from Kerr County, and I've seen no one from the state in my neighborhood."
Participants on the press event also criticized the recent redistricting legislation. State lawmakers said that should not be the priority over the flood relief.
"I am grossly offended that the only bill that they have sought ... is on redistricting," State Rep. Ann Johnson said. " I am grossly offended that today, Gov. Abbott and Republicans are running ads against Democrats, suggesting that we won't come back for flooding [legislation]. It is time that leadership stop playing politics and start actually working for the people of Texas."
When the first special session ended, Abbott immediately called for a second special session.
