‘The need is keenly felt:’ In the Christmas rush, don’t forget Eastern Kentucky.

Here we are in Lexington, zipping around on last minute Christmas errands, heading to full rounds of holiday parties, goggling at the beautiful lights and celebrating the first normal Christmas since Covid.

As predicted, it feels like we’ve totally forgotten about the horror our neighbors in Eastern Kentucky went through in July when the worst flooding in years destroyed so much.

“It’s tough, it’s really, really tough,” said Gerry Roll, CEO of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky in Hazard, which has a database of 8,000 people it helped post-flooding. “There’s still a lot of people who are struggling, but they’re kind of hidden.”

FEMA has come and gone. The tremendous support of church groups and nonprofits and regular people who came and cleaned toxic mud out of houses is over. Toy drives are bringing some Christmas joy to the children, but then again, it’s hard to get too excited when you have nowhere to put them.

Eastern Kentucky still desperately needs our help. But it’s a different kind of help. They need houses and materials and skilled labor. And of course, more money.

The Foundation has been holding focus groups around the region to focus on recovery. At one in Breathitt County recently, 175 people showed up to talk going back to the homes that are still standing, but full of mold or houses with HVAC.

“The mold is an issue,” said Kathy Allen, a community engagement officer with the Foundation. “People are staying in their homes but the mold is still there, and that is a real health risk.”

Over in Knott County, Dustin Combs oversees the school district’s family resource centers and serves on the new Knott County Community Foundation. “We have had a number of very generous people and organizations that have really pitched in to support our kids in the district,” he said.

But now the really hard part is coming because people absolutely need housing and need it now. Combs said the most heartbreaking is the high number of elderly folks who lost their homes and no longer have the income to qualify for loans. One couple, 82 and 84 are now living with relatives an hour away from Hindman.

“When I saw her, she was bent over crying, saying ‘I want to be near home and my church,’” Combs said.

Another single mother of three had a mortgage on a $148,000 home that completely washed away. With no flood insurance, she’s homeless and the payments are still due.

“It’s like an onion,” Combs said. “The problem is so layered, and each case is different. There are a lot of people in similar situations, but none are in the same situation.”

Combs is part of a new venture called the Knott County Community Foundation, which is one way that Knott Countians hope to address the critical need for low-income and senior housing.

Clearly at some point the General Assembly — which inexplicably left housing out of the emergency session last fall — will have to address this need again. Combs is sending an open invitation to legislators to come and see what he sees every day.

“When you’re making decisions on a grand scale for people, it would probably be helpful to go into a trailer with eight people living there with no insulation,” he said. “Those kinds of things really bring context to what we’re dealing with.”

They could also go visit with Gwen Johnson, who runs the Hemphill Community Center in an isolated corner of Letcher County. I wrote about Johnson in the fall, when people still needed food and clothing. Now they want Christmas trees, but they need sheet rock and lumber.

“We need to get money to people’s hands,” she said. “Now Lowe’s cards are critical to putting houses back together.”

Even if you have supplies, it’s hard to find contractors who aren’t too busy to schedule. Right now, she’s trying to find a 200-amp disconnect box to help one resident from having to replace all his wiring. He’s using a generator. Things like that.

On Dec. 17, Hemphill will host a Christmas party for families with musical entertainment provided by Senora Childers, who’s married to Tyler Childers. The Childers have given a huge donation as well.

“There’s been such an outpouring of blessings toward this place,” she said. “But even with all that, the need is keenly felt.”

Here are just a few of the places still taking donations for Eastern Kentucky flood victims. With any community foundation, you can designate what you’d like your money to go to, such as “senior housing.”

Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky: https://www.appalachianky.org/

Housing Development Alliance: https://hdahome.org/

Knott County Community Foundation: https://appalachianky.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=2914

Hemphill Community Center: https://hemphillcenter.org/