From what was once a coal camp’s swimming pool in Floyd County, Kentucky, Saint Vincent Mission has served Appalachians since 1968. The nonprofit got its start soon after President Lyndon B. Johnson came to nearby Martin County, effectively using imagery from Eastern Kentucky to launch the War on Poverty in 1964. This inspired a group from the Brothers of Charity in Philadelphia to come help alleviate poverty in one of the regions suffering the most.
Nearly 60 years later, St. Vincent is a bustling campus in the small town of David. The old poolhouse continues to be their headquarters, though they’ve added on over the years to accommodate their many programs. From the beginning, they have sought to address the community’s most pressing needs – launching the county’s first food pantry, a childcare center, and home repair services. Today, they continue to operate the food pantry, offer home repair and disaster relief, workforce development, a garden program, and more.
“We aim to do the things that truly help people come out of poverty,” executive director Erin Bottomlee said, describing how they’ve reshaped their programs over the years. “We can pay someone’s bill for a month, but paying to fix a car so they can get to their job and get around is long-term help.”
Their programs require active participation: homeowners work alongside repair teams, and gardeners commit to training before receiving supplies. This intentional design empowers people to take part in their own success. For example, with their Christmas program, families earn points they can use to purchase gifts.
“If they are doing things to earn these gifts, then they are the ones giving those gifts to their children and families. They get the joy of providing to their families.”
Their workforce development internship teaches participants not only valuable skills in areas like home repair, woodworking, gardening, and program operations, but also soft skills like navigating conflict in the workplace. They also help participants obtain licenses, expunge records, and find reliable transportation.
“Many people we serve through this program have a criminal history, past drug addiction, or they have never worked a job and haven’t developed those skills yet. Having this as a first-time job can lay a positive foundation for future work, or sometimes simply getting a positive recommendation from us can lead to landing a job.”
With so many programs, it’s easy for a small nonprofit to get buried in paperwork and administrative overhead. After the historic floods of 2022, they recognized the need to streamline operations without losing their personal touch. St. Vincent Mission applied to Mountain Association’s Business Support program to work with an expert on a solution.
They worked with S Media, a London, KY based firm, to build a customized system, allowing them to track their impact, manage relationships, and respond more quickly — which is especially crucial given frequent flooding in the mountains. The system was truly put to the test with the floods of 2025. It allowed them to more quickly enter people’s needs and more easily manage their cases through to completion.
“For those of us who work at Mountain Association, this project was a great way to multiply our impact by ‘helping the helpers’—we were able to empower a local nonprofit to respond more nimbly and effectively in their community,” Jimmy Owsley of the Mountain Association’s Business Support team said.
“In the aftermath of the 2022 flood, there was a lot of confusion among various response agencies about who was affected, who was being served, and what their case status was—this new system provides needed transparency for all of that, allowing Saint Vincent Mission to engage confidently and effectively with clients, partners, and funders.”
There are many ways to support the incredible work of St. Vincent Mission — from donating supplies to volunteering time. We hope you will visit their website to learn more.
