Flags of Hope: Hunt Art Therapist Leads Community Healing Following 2025 Flood
The “Guadalupe River Flags of Hope and Reverence,” invites the public to a workshop from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at the Heart of the Hills Heritage Center.
Jaimie Lee Peterson is turning cloth into a canvas for community healing as the first anniversary of the devastating July 4, 2025, flood approaches. Her newest initiative, the “Guadalupe River Flags of Hope and Reverence,” invites the public to a workshop from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at the Heart of the Hills Heritage Center.
Peterson, a licensed professional counselor and art therapist who has spent 17 years at Kerrville State Hospital, is no stranger to the power of creative expression. For her, the project is a response to a tragedy that unfolded right at her doorstep. While her home on a hill was spared, the half-mile stretch of the Guadalupe River surrounding her property became a site of profound loss, where 38 neighbors perished.
“I just wanted to find a way to show support visually, make a visual marker of support,” Peterson said. “And so, I”m calling everyone in Kerr County and everywhere to make some flags.”
The art therapist processed her own grief through a monumental effort, creating 103 paintings of the Guadalupe between Aug. 2025 and April 2026. The collection, titled “A love letter to the Guadalupe,” was displayed at Grape Juice in March and April to raise funds for ecological relief. From those paintings grew the Half Mile Project, a fledgling nonprofit dedicated to community healing.
Participants in the upcoming workshops are invited to decorate pre-sewn cloth flags with words of encouragement, prayers, or drawings. Peterson emphasizes that no artistic background is required to participate.
“You don’t have to be an artist,” she said. “As an art therapist, we always say it’s not about the product, it’s about the process. It’s about like saying something… It can be writing, it can be drawing, painting, any of those things.”
Reflecting on the aftermath of the disaster, Peterson said she was moved by the resilience of her community. “What I was so amazed by was the amount of love and support that happened,” she recalled. “All the people that came from all over to lend a hand, to bring food. It was just so beautiful in such an ugly, terrible time.”
The goal is to eventually create a flag for every life lost in the flood, with the banners displayed outside local homes and businesses as visible signs of solidarity. Those interested in participating or hosting a workshop can contact the Half Mile Project at hwy39studios@gmail.com.
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