Knott Countian Beth Gibson Helping Rebuild Local Communities through EKY FLOOD Program

It’s a cold October morning, and Beth Gibson is spending part of it shoveling pieces of shattered drywall into a wheelbarrow at the Carrie Community Center in her native Knott County. She’s been doing this sort of work a lot as part of an effort to restore the center and other structures that just three months earlier sustained severe damage during one of the worst flooding events in Eastern Kentucky’s history.

Beth Gibson and Deven Hoover clean up a room in the Carrie Community Center in Knott County that was damaged during flooding in Eastern Kentucky in July 2022.

That flood on July 28, 2022, killed nearly 50 people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,500 homes. The work Gibson is doing now is necessary, she says, and it’s work that she’s happy to be doing to help rebuild the county and region.

Gibson is one member of a five-person crew working in disaster relief via a new program called EKY FLOOD, an initiative of Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) formed in response to the flooding that provides funding for organizations working in disaster relief to hire workers to perform duties including cleanup and humanitarian assistance in affected communities. Workers like Gibson are mucking out homes and delivering needed supplies. It is work that remains in high demand even months later, and will likely remain ongoing for some time.  

In Gibson’s case, it wasn’t long after the flood that she began volunteering her time to help others. The need was apparent from the start, and while her home wasn’t affected, she didn’t have to look far to see people who had lost a lot and needed help. 

“The morning of the flood, I get up and my next-door neighbor’s house is kind of hanging off of my drive bridge,” Gibson says. “It’s really hard to see the impact that it made on those around me.” 

Gibson had a job at the Mine Made Adventure Park in Knott County, but when the floods hit the region it meant her job in local tourism was on hold. During this time she found out about new job openings for disaster relief workers through EKY FLOOD.

The need for relief workers was staggering, especially initially, Gibson says. Since she was already spending time volunteering, she decided to put in an application for a FLOOD position and was placed with the Knott County Fiscal Court in August. She’s been working with the county crew ever since, helping clean up houses, clearing flood debris, and distributing supplies to local residents. They’re also working to clean up the Carrie Community Center, which could be used as a drop-off and distribution center as relief efforts continue. 

“We’ve done a lot to help, like elderly people that maybe don’t have the ability to get out physically and to clean up their basements and around their property,” Gibson says. “It seems like a really big struggle for a lot of people.” 

In one case, she adds, the crew helped remove debris from a property in the county where flood waters had destroyed valuable garden space, which for some in the county can represent a significant food source.  

“Their garden was completely littered with flood debris, so without helping hands to come in there and help clean up that debris, there’s no hope of being able to start a garden next spring,” she says.  

In the meantime, Gibson says the county is coordinating with churches and other groups to determine how best to help local residents who continue to need assistance as winter approaches. The need remains high, she adds, but she’s grateful to be able to play a role in relief efforts in communities that in some cases are forever changed. 

“It’s a worthwhile thing when you go home at night,” Gibson says. “You might be tired and it’s a been a long, hard day, but you know you’ve done something worth doing that day.” 

Anyone wishing to apply for a position through EKY FLOOD can do so online at ekcep.us/ekyflood. The program is open to eligible individuals living with EKCEP’s 23-county service area. For more information visit ekyflood.com.

EKY FLOOD (Finding Local Opportunities for Overcoming Disaster) is a program of Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program and funded by the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet as part of a U.S. Dept. of Labor national dislocated worker grant. Eligibility for open positions will be determined in accordance with federal guidance related to DWG programs.

EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. The agency provides an array of workforce development services and operates the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to more than a dozen state and federal programs that offer employment and training assistance for jobseekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more at http://www.ekcep.org, http://www.jobsight.org and http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.