Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order Monday directing funds to build more housing in Eastern Kentucky.
In a visit to high-ground communities in Knott and Perry counties on the fourth anniversary of 2022’s deadly flooding, Beshear moved $2.5 million from a vetoed item in the state budget to the Team Kentucky Emergency Relief Fund. The allocation should build 25 homes.
The high-ground communities are the work of several nonprofits replacing and improving homes in areas above the flood plain. One of the nonprofits involved, Housing Development Alliance, celebrated the completion of the first phase of Chestnut Ridge in Knott County in June.
Monday, Beshear celebrated the groundbreaking of 30 new homes in that community. He also handed over the keys to four homes in a Hazard high-ground neighborhood.
Prior to the flooding, many Eastern Kentucky communities were already facing a housing shortage. Despite the access to relief funds, officials say the efforts still aren’t enough to meet the compounded demand.
In June, HDA Executive Director Scott McReynolds told WEKU the housing crisis has long been treated like a capacity problem, but recent efforts reveal a lack of resources has played a big role.
“We just need the resources, and I think that's a really important message to funders and to policy makers,” McReynolds said. “Get us the resources, and we can solve the problem.”
McReynolds said the goal is to build hundreds of houses across the region. HDA relies on money from a variety of sources to help offset the cost of building and meet the homeowners where they are financially.
“We're always trying to build more resources, and at the same time trying to be really good stewards of the resources we're given,” McReynolds said in June.
In a news release, Beshear said the high-ground communities represent an "ambitious" investment in Appalachian Kentucky.
“Four years ago today, Eastern Kentucky was devastated by deadly floods that took the lives of 45 Kentuckians. The grief is still with us – but I believe grief is the other side of love,” Beshear said. “By undertaking the most ambitious rebuilding effort our country has ever seen with our high-ground communities, we’re building back in a way that honors those lost and the resilience our people have shown every day since. Today was a celebration of a very bright future that we’ve created together.”
