Not Just a Home

By Brianna Stephens

After completing an extensive home repair project that took him and other Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) employees and volunteers several months, Avery Ford, a one-year volunteer and AmeriCorps member in the Home Repair program, was looking forward to his next project and the relationships he would get to build. However, no one could have guessed what the rest of the summer had in store.

In July up to 14 inches of heavy rain fell in a short amount of time which caused significant flash flooding and damage and destruction to thousands of homes. CAP’s Home Repair crews were immediately reassigned from their daily projects to help families in desperate need following the flooding.

“The historic floods were a waking nightmare for many, many families in Eastern Kentucky,” said Jamie Conley, manager of CAP’s Home Repair program in Johnson, Floyd, and Martin Counties. “CAP crew leaders and volunteers mucked out 94 homes in six weeks and then immediately transitioned to recovery efforts where we are helping with repairs and getting families back into their homes after the devastation. These efforts are powered by our volunteers, like Avery. We are so grateful for them.”

The first disaster relief muck out Ford did was for a family of six, which included a bedridden grandmother, Nettie, and three children, living in a mobile home. Water from the nearby creek rose and flowed through the home, picking up and scattering the furniture and other belongings inside. The water continued to rise, and with no place else to go, the family all climbed on top of Nettie’s bed. The water finally stopped rising when it reached the top of the bed.

Everything was soaked with flood water, including Nettie's nightgown. An assessment team from CAP came to document the damage to the home and the needs of the family. Staff also bought Nettie a new gown and the hospital provided a new bed.

“Our crew began with the extremely difficult and heartbreaking task of bagging up and throwing away all their soiled possessions,” Ford said. “If you haven’t experienced something like that before, think of it like this. Walk through your house. Everything you see that’s less than 3 feet off the ground, imagine you had to throw it all away. That’s probably a lot of stuff. For some, the water was much higher than 3 feet.”

After removing the belongings, the CAP crew cut out the wet paneling and insulation and pressure washed the mud out of the walls and floors. One moment that stuck with Ford during the work was when they had to move Nettie outside to power wash the inside. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the area that day. It wasn’t long before Nettie started to show signs of heat exhaustion. Luckily, work was able to be done quickly and the power was turned back on so Nettie could move back inside and cool off in the air conditioning.

“This incident gave me a renewed sense of urgency and purpose as I realized just how critical a home was to her and others like her,” Ford said. “A home is not just a space to live in. It’s essential in maintaining life.”

In his experience with CAP, Ford said he realized his service is about more than home repair. It is about the communities he serves and the hope that is given to children, their families, and seniors in Appalachia.

“Several participants have told me how lonely they often get but having us out there each weekday gives them someone to talk to, cry with, and laugh with,” Ford said. “Some participants thought they were forgotten, but when we showed up to muck out their house, it meant that they still mattered, that there was still hope. That’s why we do it. The repairs are great, but it’s our way to share hope and Christ’s love.”