Wall of Hope grows in downtown Kerrville, honoring flood victims
As the Texas Hill Country continues cleaning up, residents continue to grieve. A "Wall of Hope" appeared on Wednesday in downtown Kerrville, providing a space for people to pray, cry, or honor the victims.
It's located on the fencing near the Herring Printing Company on Water Street.
The memorial consists of photos and names of victims of the flood, as well as real and artificial flowers and candles, though the creator of the memorial encourages the community to add to it.
"I think it's important to give people a place where they can pay their respects," said Leo Soto. "Also, maybe pray for a miracle as well."
Soto is the creator of the Wall of Hope, and this isn't his first time.
"There's no organization," Soto told people who arrived at the memorial. "If you see a flower that catches your eye, grab it, put it anywhere you'd like."
The impact of the wall has been powerful.
"It breaks my heart, man," said Kerrville native Alberto Martinez. "It's sad to see so many good families, so many innocent lives lost to a flood."
Soto has made Walls of Hope around the country, starting with the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, including one after the school shooting in Uvalde.
"The goal is to give the community a canvas," Soto explained. "As you see here, they're painting the canvas in the best way that they see fit."
The community has taken to the memorial as its own.
"My satisfaction comes in knowing the power that this brings for a community that is looking for somewhere, anywhere, where they can just come together and just begin to heal," Soto said. "Show some love and put some love out in the air."
If you'd like to help out with the memorial, you can bring artificial flowers to the site to replace the real flowers as they wilt. There will also be a vigil at the memorial at 7 p.m. Friday.