EKY FLOOD Program Provides Letcher Countian Emily McIntosh Opportunity to Help Others in Wake of Historic Flood in Eastern Kentucky

Like many in the wake of the July 2022 flood in Eastern Kentucky, Emily McIntosh wanted to help. Her hometown of Whitesburg and many surrounding communities were devastated, and a lot of people were left in need.  

Fortunately for McIntosh, her home was spared, but the beauty shop where she worked in downtown Whitesburg wasn’t. And because of the flood she was also laid off from a second job working in the remodel program at the Whitesburg Walmart, which left her without a source of income at a time when there wasn’t going to be much else available.

With so many flood survivors in need, McIntosh decided to do what she could and began volunteering her time at CANE Kitchen in Whitesburg, a community kitchen that has provided free meals since the flood. While she was keeping busy with her time, she still had to figure out a way to replace at least some of the income she lost.

“I was going to sign up on unemployment because that was the only option at the time,” she said.  

While volunteering at CANE Kitchen, McIntosh saw a social media post about a new program formed in response to the disaster called EKY FLOOD, an initiative of Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) that provides funding for organizations working in disaster relief to hire workers to perform duties including cleanup and humanitarian assistance in affected communities. 

CANE Kitchen became a participating employer in the program with paid positions available, so McIntosh applied through the online application portal. By Sept. 1 she had started a new position with CANE Kitchen to help provide disaster relief through the EKY FLOOD initiative.  

“I mean, it was really that easy,” McIntosh said about the application process.  

With so much need across the county in the weeks following the flood, CANE Kitchen quickly responded with free meals throughout the day not only for flood survivors, but also for volunteers, relief workers, and others. At one point, McIntosh noted, the kitchen was cooking for hundreds of people per day. 

“I think that this was kind of a safe haven for people, even if they weren't eating meals, they were up here because it was a warm, comforting place for everyone to come to,” McIntosh said.  

While the number of people receiving meals has declined in past weeks, the kitchen staff continues to work five days each week to serve meals to the community at large, including a number of local flood survivors who remain without a habitable residence or a means to cook their own meals.  

“We still have people that have been coming here since day one and getting food,” she said. 

Despite all of the recovery work that has occurred in Eastern Kentucky since July, the level of devastation from the flooding remains evident, and the toll it has taken on the people who directly experienced it continues nearly five months later. Just in her own community, McIntosh noted, dozens of people are still living in campers as they work toward rebuilding their previous lives, some businesses remain affected in town, and local and state government crews maintain a busy schedule as they rebuild infrastructure.

“I don't think people realize still how bad it is,” she said.

There will continue to be a need for the services that organizations like CANE Kitchen provides for some time, and McIntosh said she is grateful to be part of the staff providing those services directly to the people who need them. And that she is earning a wage to replace the income she lost is a bonus, but she knows it is work she would be doing regardless.  

“I knew that I couldn’t just sit back at my house no matter what I had been going through and just know that there’s people up here that need help,” she said. “I know if I was in the situation of being a flood victim, you know I didn't have to deal with that a whole lot, but I'd want somebody to be there for me, and so I wanted to be that person for someone.”

While Eastern Kentucky continues to pick up the pieces, there remains a need for individuals providing relief services. 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 job seekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org, http://www.jobsight.org and http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.