One of the organizations busy these days with housing construction is the Housing Development Alliance based in Hazard. And the major flood event in July of 2022 has impacted the work schedule for HDA. Director of Development and Communication Mindy Miller said her organization also serves non-flood-impacted low-income families in need of housing.
“Before the flood we averaged 17 to 20 new home builds a year. We’ll continue that for low-income non-flood survivors, but we’ll also do that same amount for flood survivors and we’ve actually exceeded that. So far, we’ve done 30 for flood survivors,” said Miller.
Miller said following the summer flood of 22, it was estimated recovery work would take three to possibly seven years. The HDA representative said this is year three of recovery. The Alliance has hired workers, but also uses volunteers on their housing projects.
Jimmy Benton is a finish carpenter with Housing Development Alliance. Benton was asked how he feels about the construction schedule.
“It’s plenty of work but it will be a while for some of them to get in their homes back…have you done this kind of work for a long time?...Yeah, I’ve did it for probably 25 years or more.”
Benton said it appears people living in the hard-hit areas are making progress with emotional recovery. The Housing Development Alliance is working on projects in subdivisions as well as scattered sites. Look for a feature story next week with more details about the Alliance and its focus.
** WEKU is working hard to be a leading source for public service, and fact-based journalism. Monthly supporters are the top funding source for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.
