All of Us Together

By Tina V. Bryson

Six months ago, the quiet creeks and rivers that make Appalachia so beautiful, turned on the residents with a torrent of water that tore through lives, homes, and memories. When the water receded, it left in its wake heartache, trauma, and loss of all kinds across 13 counties in Eastern Kentucky, many in the primary service area of Christian Appalachian Project (CAP).

Robyn Renner, director of CAP’s Disaster Relief program, activated staff and volunteers to discern needs and strategize how to leverage existing and new partnerships to serve families immediately as well as ongoing needs that become more apparent during recovery. It was evident from the extensive damage that families would have ongoing needs for weeks and months to come, and hard-hit communities may well be looking at years before full recovery would be possible. Some communities may never be able to recover, with homes on entire streets flooded, along with schools, businesses, churches, even local emergency agencies.

“We have had crews on the ground doing assessments and muckouts since the first week of August,” Renner said. “The devastation was so widespread. Many families continue to live with no source of heat since the flood waters took out their HVAC units. As the temperature has been dropping, many families are asking for electric heaters just to stay warm.”

For families already struggling with the economic hardships of poverty, space heaters only contribute to rising electric bills. Many families also still need repairs including insulation, drywall, and flooring.

“The critical repairs they need will become even more essential,” Renner added. “It will be difficult to heat homes during the winter months which will make for some very cold nights. Many of the families impacted by the flooding are elderly, so there is that added urgency as winter approaches.”

The floods have been devastating on so many levels and the extensive impact has created a long-term situation that will need to be addressed by organizations like CAP.

“Families in Eastern Kentucky have had to deal with mudslides from the mountains behind their homes, as well as the power of the water from flash flooding,” Renner added. “This was just another addition to the daily struggles of people in the community. Many families also lost their vehicles in the flood. They live far from a town or grocery store. Now, they can’t even get to the doctor or the pharmacist. In some cases, cancer patients are having difficulty getting to their treatments.”

CAP hosts groups each year until mid-November. Around that time, nearly 100 homes were still on the list needing repairs, but there would be no more groups until March. Crew leaders have been working non-stop since the floods and are physically and emotionally exhausted.

“We need skilled leaders from the community who are willing to lead volunteers for a week at a time and additional funds to be able to hire contractors to complete HVAC and electrical work,” Renner added. “Most of the local contractors are booked solid for months and even years.”

CAP continues to work with numerous community partners to help alleviate suffering for families in Eastern Kentucky. “Our current goal is getting the families that have homes that are reparable back in a safe, warm, and dry environment. We will utilize our Home Repair crew leaders to supervise volunteer groups in both regions for Floyd, Knott, and Clay Counties. We can’t do this alone; it’s going to take lots of agencies, communities, dollars, and physical labor to get these communities back on their feet.”