When dawn broke on July 28th, 2022, many Kentuckians woke to swirling flood waters and utter devastation. Thousands were left stranded, homeless, without transportation or basic needs. In one instance, an entire community was without water, electricity and basic essentials; cut off by a now missing road. As a gauge of the scale of the disaster, officials determined that 80% of the houses in the county had been impacted.

The Letcher Co. Extension Service immediately reached out to county officials for direction on how best to help. At the request of the County Judge-Executive, the office delivered the first bottled water and disinfectants that cut-off town of McRoberts. We then partnered with the state office of Kentucky Farm Bureau to arrange large shipments of water and supplies, with KFB operating a hot meal kitchen in the town and at various towns throughout the county over the following weeks. 

The office directed all of our staff and agents to Letcher County Central High School, where we staffed the aid stations which fed, clothed, and provided other essentials for thousands of our citizens for several weeks. We were joined by Extension Agents, staff, Extension Specialists and Administrators in assembling and distributing aid on a rotating basis. We delivered supplies such as tents, tarps, food, blankets, flashlights, cots, and other needs to those left entirely homeless and those living in tent villages in remote parts of the county, where only trucks could access. Our office also served as the Red Cross Shelter for over 40 families for the weeks immediately after the flood.

These efforts speak to a central fact that we earn the right to teach others by first joining them where they are and showing them that we care about them as friends and neighbors. Only then do we have the respect needed to educate.