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Central Texas Communities Navigate Collective Grief as Camp Mystic Flood Search Continues

Mental health experts say channeling grief into community support can help families cope with loss during ongoing search and recovery operations.

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Overview

  • Search and recovery operations continue in the Texas Hill Country, with U.S. Coast Guard teams and thousands of volunteers combing the Guadalupe River for missing flood victims.
  • Regional relief efforts led by HEB and grassroots groups like Land of Lovies and The Lost Stuffy Project are delivering supplies and reuniting children with comforting possessions.
  • Families are holding prayer vigils and memorial gatherings to honor the more than 120 people who died in the July 4 flash flood, including 27 campers at Camp Mystic.
  • Child psychologist Tanya Cotler recommends action-based coping strategies—such as donating to relief funds, limiting media exposure, and sending supportive messages—to manage collective grief.
  • Counselors and faith leaders stress the importance of bearing witness through storytelling and maintaining daily routines to help bereaved parents navigate overwhelming loss.