Retired Fort Worth police officer offering prayers and sandwiches in Kerrville following deadly floods
Retired Fort Worth police officer Jamie Stanford said her faith and her Texas pride drove her to Kerrville this week.
"I'm a Texan and when my people need help, I'm going to show up," Stanford said.
In the wake of the catastrophic Central Texas floods that killed more than 100 people, Stanford drove down from Fort Worth Monday to offer up free sandwiches and prayer to first responders, and to anyone else in need. When Stanford reached out to DFW Scanner for help, the news blog offered to sponsor her mission.
"She asked if we wanted to help — and of course, we said yes," DFW Scanner wrote in a Facebook post. "A check was written, groceries and water were loaded up, and Jamie hit the road without hesitation."
Stanford said she's heard emotional stories since arriving in town Monday, but she's happy to be able to offer a meal and support.
"It's heartbreaking, it's hard," Stanford said. "We have people tell us their house washed away, they almost drowned."
As a retired first responder who now does contract work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, Stanford knows what it takes to be on the front lines. She has worked on flood recovery before, including after Hurricane Harvey. She said she knows what the men and women on the frontlines are going through.
"It's not easy, it's hard," she said. "What a lot of first responders would do is they detach themselves so that they can protect themselves. But you can't always do that. And that's where the prayer will come in."
