VICTORIA, Texas-Facing more than half a million dollars in damages, Devereux campus administrator Richard Perkins said the destruction left by Hurricane Harvey was not his biggest concern.
"We are mainly focused on the well-being of the clients to get them back into the normalcy of the program," he said.
The Victoria Advocate reports after being evacuated for 15 days after the storm, more than 300 clients and staff from Devereux Advanced Medical Health Texas returned to their damaged center in Victoria with their heads high.
Dixon, vocational manager at Devereux.
The 400-acre center had more than 120 trees down and severe roof damage to its gymnasium from Harvey, which made landfall in South Texas on Aug. 25. Two of the climate-controlled greenhouses were torn down.
Despite the large amount of work and time it will take to repair the damages, "the staff is working very hard to make things normal for our clients," Perkins said.
Since 1958, Devereux has offered residential and vocational programs for children and adults experiencing a wide range of emotional, behavioral, developmental and psychiatric disorders.
The vocational training program offers an employment opportunity for its clients to enhance their self-confidence and help them obtain the necessary skills for employment. Clients have the option to work in a variety of fields such as horticulture, culinary and retail operations.
"These work programs give clients a fulfillment of accomplishing things during their day. They put a lot of work in what they do," said Janet Lyon, development specialist.
The program's nursery provides plants and flowers for Devereux Gardens, a retail store with locations in Victoria and Goliad.
The funds from the retail stores go back into the program and keep the clients working.
"The facility thrives on this business, and we are ready for customers to come back and visit us," Dixon said.
With the nursery down two greenhouses, the remaining five are protecting the new plants and rehabilitating some that survived the storm.
Kenny Marquez, a vocational instructor specializing in horticulture, said the nursery lost thousands of plants, but he was shocked to see the large number of bougainvilleas that survived the storm.
"We also had banana plants that were damaged due to the strong, strong winds, but they picked themselves back up," he said.
In addition to the damages on campus, the Devereux Gardens store in Goliad had damage to its roof and greenhouse and will remain closed until repairs can be made.
The property has yet to be reviewed by adjusters, but the staff is still providing services to their Goliad customers at their location in Victoria, Perkins said.
"Our clients are anxious to get back to providing people with their floral needs," he said.
While the center is dealing with recovery, the staff is helping a sister facility from League City. Devereux is temporarily accommodating 50 clients and staff from there after the League City center sustained severe flood damage from Harvey.
A new transportation vehicle from the Victoria campus was damaged in the flood after transporting two clients to League City.
To help with the cost of recovery, Lyon said, Devereux is applying for grants to cover all of the expenses related to Harvey damage.
"Right now, donations to our disaster relief and recovery are very important because there are many hard costs that aren't covered by insurance," Lyon said.
The quality and care of the programs for their clients are what always comes first, Dixon said.
"It's important for us to keep ourselves grounded for them because they trust us to provide for them in all aspects of their life," Dixon said.
Perkins said staff members are the real heroes because they put their clients ahead of themselves.
"With all that the clients and staff have been through, we have a positive outlook on the future even after a disaster," he said.