An Unwavering Journey to Empower and Rebuild: TRLA’s Disaster Response in Uvalde

Only a short hour’s drive from San Antonio--a city that houses one of TRLA’s largest offices—you will find Uvalde. Uvalde is a friendly, rural town with around 16,000 residents. On May 24, 2022, the tranquillity of this tight-knit community was shattered when a mass casualty event ended with nineteen children and two adults killed at Rob Elementary School. This massacre would become the deadliest school shooting in Texas history and the third deadliest in the United States. News of the disaster quickly spread. Frighteningly familiar to the response TRLA provided following the 2019 Walmart mass casualty incident in El Paso, staff members met to identify the immediate needs that TRLA could meet.

A myriad of legal issues needing to be addressed as soon as possible spawned another worry amongst the already overwhelming emotions and heavy grief thrust upon impacted families. Many of the 68 counties in our service area include those profoundly marred by poverty. Uvalde is no different, with one in five residents below the federal poverty guidelines. Our clients repeatedly bear the brunt of horrific natural and human-made disasters.

Staying true to TRLA’s commitment to holistic, compassionate justice, staff devised a multi-pronged approach that expanded beyond the traditional concept of “disaster response.” Such as the potential impact of much-needed donations on the needs-based public benefits many families receive. Rocketing them into fear about whether they would be able to meet their basic needs. Mounting medical bills threatened the little financial security for survivors and their loved ones. The existence of fund dispersal programs, such as the National Compassion Fund (NCF) and the Crimes Victims’ Compensation Program (CVC), created the painful task of rehashing the tragedy on applications.

No one organization could have responded to a crisis of this magnitude alone—the TRLA Disaster Assistance Group facilitated partnerships with organizations like the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM), San Antonio Legal Aid (SALSA), and many more community stakeholders and agencies.

Impacted families and survivors congregated at the Uvalde Resiliency Center, established within days of the shooting. TRLA attorneys and paralegals conducted intakes, meetings, and community education events at the Center—many working through the holiday weekend. These information sessions proved valuable for grieving families, as TRLA staff members provided hope and guidance on retaining public benefits, trustees’ primary duties, and introductory investment advice. Despite the reality that no amount of legal advice or community outreach would ever return Uvalde to the town it was before, TRLA staff members knew firsthand that what they offered was a small step towards relief. Through our consistent presence and building of trust, Uvalde citizens have been empowered to voice other legal needs—issues not directly related to the tragedy—many of which have been damaging remains of a community recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. These needs have provided additional opportunities for TRLA staff to seek justice alongside this community.

To continue meeting the legal needs of the Uvalde Community, TRLA opened a physical location in the town just six months later. The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) made this physical presence in Uvalde’s heart possible.