Annie’s Helping Hands: the first elevated home survived. Now 12 more families are asking.

Paul Bobo is not a disaster relief professional. He is a philanthropist who bought a six-acre property in Center Point in 2021, learned it had once belonged to Emmy — a noted local philanthropist who lived in a Texas Ranger’s 1890 home — and felt a sense of obligation that has not let him go since.

“I was helping everybody,” Bobo said Tuesday on Lead Live, describing the days after the July 4, 2025, flood. “Basically ran out of money. So I started a foundation. I’m going to see if I can get enough money to keep it going forever. That’s in my heart.”

Bobo appeared alongside Michelle Bruninga, Annie’s Helping Hands’ co-founder and case manager. Within three days of the 2025 flood — after Bobo opened his property to house emergency search and rescue teams and began writing personal checks to neighbors — the two formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3). Their first major act was taking Kent, a local diesel machinist who lost his home and workshop in 8 feet of water, to Home Depot and spending $4,000 to replace his tools. Without those tools, Kent had no income. With them, he had a way forward.

The organization rented the Center Point Historical Society building to establish a local disaster recovery center, completing more than 222 intakes for rural survivors in Center Point and Comfort who were in shock and struggling to navigate available resources.

Their most significant long-term contribution may be the elevation certificate program. Recognizing that homeowners cannot legally rebuild in a floodplain without an elevation certificate — and that the cost was prohibitive for many survivors — Bruninga partnered with county engineer Charlie Hastings, secured a $10,000 grant, matched it with Bobo’s personal funds, and launched a pilot program for 17 homes.

The first home lifted under the program belonged to Mike Blackledge. Elevated three feet in October 2025, Blackledge’s home did not take on water during the July 16, 2026, flood.

“Charlie Hastings wore his heart on his sleeve,” Bruninga said, “and he was amazing — he saved the taxpayer millions of dollars by doing a lot of the engineering himself.”

Annie’s Helping Hands is now processing 12 new elevation certificate requests following the 2026 flood. The organization also cleared three acres of heavy gravel debris from the Center Point lower bridge to support road recovery.

FEMA Individual Assistance has not been approved for the 2026 event. Bruninga has not given up on it.

“My honest opinion — each week that we don’t have it, I’m losing hope,” she said. “But I have faith.”

To donate or request casework assistance, contact Annie’s Helping Hands through their Facebook page.