Texas flooding: Hope House in Liberty Hill hit hard, loses staff member to floods

LIBERTY HILL, Texas - A Williamson County nonprofit is recovering after it was hit hard by the deadly and devastating flooding during the July 4th weekend.

What they're saying:

Developmental director Erland Shultze shared the story with FOX 7 Austin's Jessica Rivera.

"Well, around 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning [July 5], one of our staff members who lives on the property in another home adjacent to the home where our children stay…we have 16 younger kids in this home, which is one of the five homes that we have here at Hope House," he said. "And she was awoken at that time by water in her house. And we got the call from her. And of course, our staff here is 24/7, so they were awake. And she was not able to make it out of the house. The water swept our house away, and we lost Sherry."

Sherry Richardson was Hope House's HR coordinator and was swept away in the floods, according to the nonprofit. Shultze says her loss was such a shock and that she loved the kids at Hope House.

Shultze added that emergency services were able to evacuate all 16 of the children from the home, which sustained "quite a bit of water and mud damage".

Hundreds of volunteers have come out this week to help the nonprofit clean it up and get it ready for the kids' return; they are currently living in four other homes operated by Hope House.

You can follow their clean-up journey and learn how you can help by going to their Facebook page.

What is Hope House?

What we know:

Hope House offers family-focused group homes for disabled children and adults, providing them with lifelong care.

According to the nonprofit's website, its first official home was built in Liberty Hill in 1976. 

For more information about Hope House and to donate to their rebuilding effort, click here.

What you can do:

Hope House is also inviting everyone to write a note, a few kind words, letter of encouragement, or even make a piece of art to help lift their staff's spirits during the recovery effort and after the loss of one of their own.

These messages will be shared throughout the nonprofit's homes and halls as daily reminders that they are seen, supported, and not alone, says the nonprofit.

Those in Liberty Hill can create and leave their notes at the following small businesses:

• Liberty Hill Beer Market
• Simply Home Boutique
• The Blue Door
• Forrest Coffee House
• Pep and Punch

Notes can also be mailed to Hope House at PO Box 457, Liberty Hill TX 78642.

The latest on the Central Texas floods

By the numbers:

The death toll from the July 4th weekend flooding in Central Texas sits at 120. 

Across the state, more than 170 people are considered missing.

At least 96 deaths, including 36 children, have been confirmed in Kerr County alone. About 161 people in Kerr County are now known to be missing, including at least five girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic.

In Travis County, there were at least seven deaths and also significant damage to infrastructure.

Kendall County has reported eight deaths.

Burnet County has at least five deaths confirmed. A Marble Falls volunteer fire chief is still missing.

Williamson County reports three deaths and Tom Green County has one death confirmed.

Officials say as for missing people, there is one in Burnet and 10 in Travis County.

Resources and donations for those impacted

• Texas flooding: State, county resources, services for those affected
• Texas flooding: Resources for those impacted
• Texas flooding: Businesses, organizations donate to recovery, relief efforts
• Texas flooding: How you can help people in Kerrville

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