Habitat for Humanity Kerr County went from building 3 houses a year to rebuilding 30. Most of them held in the second flood.

On Monday, Aug. 24, the final family displaced by the July 4, 2025, flood will move into a new home built by Habitat for Humanity of Kerr County.

The furniture went in Thursday. The Arcadia Recovery Collaboration and Four Premier Properties served as the design team for the final interior install. Baylee Parks, Habitat’s Community Engagement Manager, rated the bed assembly performance of Four Premier Properties’ Terra Legends a “10 out of 10” — multiple beds assembled in a single room without losing a screw.

The home at Mariposa — Habitat’s active development at 1804 Weston Loop, where 12 of 13 planned homes are complete and one is under construction — is the last of 10 built specifically for flood survivors in partnership with the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. Monday’s move-in closes that chapter.

Parks and Katy Taylor, Habitat’s Community Engagement and Finance staff member, appeared Friday on Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week to describe what the past 13 months have demanded of an organization that before July 4, 2025, built two or three homes per year.

In the hours after the 2025 flood, Parks and Executive Director Mary Campana were frantically texting each other trying to figure out how to help. Campana spent weeks on the phone with Habitat chapters across the country studying how other affiliates had navigated disasters. What they learned became the organization’s defining operational principle: Habitat does not do muck and gut. Habitat does long-term rebuilding.

“Habitat steps in during the long-term recovery,” Parks said. “We’re there for the rebuilding process.”

The program launched in late August 2025 with a floor replacement in the Rio Robles neighborhood. Over the following year, Habitat repaired or rebuilt 30 homes. The organization hired a specialized disaster recovery construction manager who brought personal experience to the role — his own home had been flooded in a previous disaster.

The proof of concept arrived with the July 16, 2026, flood. Three of the 30 homes that Habitat had rebuilt and elevated took absolutely no water. Of the remaining 27, only 10 had any damage at all — and the vast majority of that was minor.

The economic footprint of those 30 homes extends well beyond the families who moved in. Taylor, who spent 20 years as a local banker through the Security State Bank, HC, Centennial, and Happy State Bank mergers before joining Habitat in January 2026, put the number in plain terms: the organization has returned $4.8 million to the local economy through local subcontractors and bulk purchasing. The entire operation — new construction, disaster recovery, volunteer coordination, marketing, and financial management — runs on six staff members: three in construction, three in administration.

Campana, who did not appear Friday but was credited by both Parks and Taylor as the “Fast and Furious” driving force of the organization, has also implemented a compassionate change to the sweat equity requirement. The traditional 350-hour threshold has been reduced to 200 hours — a recognition that every current future homeowner is a single mother, and 350 hours is an unrealistic bar for someone raising children alone.

“As a single mother, that’s tough,” Parks said.

Habitat needs volunteer builders for the Mariposa site this fall. A core group of seven to eight men builds every Tuesday and Thursday; what’s needed are weekend groups of 12 to 15 from local businesses and community organizations. The annual golf tournament fundraiser is Nov. 13, presented by Security State Bank with Greg Capel as presenting sponsor. Families seeking flood repair assistance should apply through rebuildkerr.org.

Volunteer or donate: habitatcur.org or (830) 792-4844.