Flood recovery meeting held in Breathitt County

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Published: Nov. 29, 2022 at 5:20 PM EST
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BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - Officials with the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky hope to bring attention to people still struggling with flood recovery.

They are hosting flood recovery meetings across Eastern Kentucky.

One meeting was held Tuesday night in Breathitt County at Marie Roberts-Caney Elementary School.

Officials said there is still a strong need for relief in the area, and they want to help fill those gaps.

“The needs are tremendous, and there are some individuals who are back in their homes that are back to somewhat normal lives, but there still are a lot of great needs out there,” Kathy King Allen with the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky said.

They offered several resources at the meeting, including a meal and on-site mental health professionals.

“We also have some mental health counselors available tonight and at all the meetings, all the community meetings we are having, and tonight we have two individuals here to provide counseling for anybody that is in need,” said Allen.

Another meeting was held Monday night in Letcher County, and officials said they had around 50 people RSVP.

However, in Breathitt County, more than 200 people attended the meeting.

Marie Roberts Caney Principal Jason Fugate said many of his students attended the meeting Tuesday night.

“We had 86 kids here that lost everything, fifty-something of them their whole home was gone, the other ones, their home was salvageable but they lost everything in it,” said Fugate.

Fugate says this meeting was good for people still struggling with flood recovery.

“Having this here tonight was really a nice thing let people remember that we are not forgot about, and letting families realize that there are still people out there trying to help us,” he said.

For more information on future meetings, click here.