About this series:
Mountain Association is partnering with What’s Next EKY?! and Vision Granted to host a series of stories showcasing the incredible flood relief efforts across the region in response to the flooding on July 28, 2022. With a goal to share hope and spark new ideas about ways you can help in your own community, these stories will showcase the creativity and hard work of local people, provide helpful flood recovery tips, and feature stories of neighbors helping neighbors. If you have a story or helpful tip to share, please contact visiongrantedconsulting@gmail.com
About our partners:
- What’s Next EKY?! is a grassroots network of communities and organizations helping people connect, collaborate, and celebrate to support a thriving Appalachian Kentucky. What’s Next EKY?! is a community group incubated by the Mountain Association. Join the Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/whatsnexteky/
- Vision Granted LLC is a network of freelancers in Eastern Kentucky providing grant writing and project management services with a specialty in “bureaucracy navigation.” Vision Granted is also a consultant for the Mountain Association’s Business Support and their SPARK Nonprofit Collaborative programs: www.visiongranted.com
Stories To Date:
Floyd County Residents are “Feeding East Kentucky”
Feeding East Kentucky is a new 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Floyd County, Kentucky, with a mission to provide a sustainable free-food distribution program for the flood affected area of East Kentucky and long-term help to fill the gaps of food insecurity in the mountains.
Local Church Unites Family After Insurance and FEMA Denials
This story is about the Tacketts, a family of eight, that found themselves homeless after flood waters caused catastrophic damage to their home in Pike County. As a result, the family was separated, living with other family members, wherever there was room. They would be denied FEMA assistance two more times before hope came in the form of a local church delivering a camper that, as luck would have it, slept eight.
Letcher County Schools Receive Thousands of Books
Learn how one former Letcher County student’s love for reading as a child led to thousands of books being donated to flooded classrooms and libraries in the Letcher County school system.
Wayland, KY is Working Together to Rebuild
Read about how the small town of Wayland is rebuilding after damage to its beloved community center.
Wayland Residents Gather to Plan Their Recovery
Learn how AmeriCorps VISTAs and community partners hosted a Community Gathering in Wayland with a goal to bring together a community drawn apart by time, the impact of Covid-19, and disaster, to discuss what makes their town special and shared ideas to drive development forward.
Get Prepared: What You Can Do Before The Next Disaster
Kentucky’s landscape and history prove that flooding, fires and tornadoes are an unfortunate inevitability of the place we call home. Here’s what you need to do to get ready for the next disaster.
Flood Veteran Shares Valuable Lessons Learned: Make Sure You’re Covered
As mayor of Wayland, KY & lifelong “Waylander,” Jerry Fultz has seen floods come and go since he was a young boy. He experienced the historic floods of 1957 & 1963, and nearly 20 more during his tenure– but the flooding of Right Beaver Creek in July 2022 was exceptional. Mayor Fultz shares with us some of the insights and lessons learned through his 12 years as mayor in such a flood prone community.
Recovery Is a Team Effort: How Communities Banded Together After the Flood to Make Lasting Change
“What are the gaps and how can we fill them in?”: This is the role for Long Term Recovery Groups (LTRGs) across the region which formed post-flood. A LTRG is a cooperative body made up of members of the community from all walks of life.
