Helping Eastern Kentucky Schools Recover after Flooding, Working to Provide Mental Health Supports for Kids

Nonprofit with 90-Year-Old Kentucky Roots also Providing Funding to Child Care Centers, Families Hardest Hit by Devastating Disaster

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (August 31, 2022) — One month after historic flooding in eastern Kentucky left a wake of destruction in its path, some school districts are still weeks away from opening classrooms too damaged to accommodate students and hundreds of children and families are left struggling to start over after losing their homes. Save the Children is working with school and community partners across six of the region’s hardest hit counties to help schools and child care centers recover, and get children and families the essentials they need now and long-term, including social and emotional support to cope with stress and loss following the tragic flooding.

"One of the first steps of recovery for children after a disaster is being able to once again interact and play with kids their own age, and resume a normal routine," said Alissa Taylor, Save the Children’s Kentucky state director. "That is why it is so important to get these children back into the classroom. It is essential for them to stay engaged and focused on learning during this difficult time."

Save the Children is helping schools in six counties – including Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Knott, Letcher and Perry counties – replace lost learning materials and books, rebuild libraries, and provide teachers with funding to get their classrooms up and running. It is also providing backpacks filled with learning materials and school supplies to children whose schools are delayed in reopening, books to families to build and restock home libraries, and funds to help the damaged child care centers in the region recover.

In addition, Save the Children is working to get cash in the hands of families who need it most, to help them cover their most urgent needs – and distributing emergency supplies, including water, diapers, cleaning kits, comfort items such as blankets and teddy bears, and other essentials. It will also be providing funding, technical expertise and training assistance to initiate social and emotional – or psychosocial – programming for children and caregivers at nearly 25 elementary schools across the region.

"Many children across eastern Kentucky have been ripped from the lives they once knew, and are unsure what the future may hold. They might be struggling with the loss of a loved one or their home," said Greta Wetzel, head of Save the Children’s emergency response team in eastern Kentucky. "Save the Children is dedicated to supporting the emotional wellbeing of these kids and their families for the long-term."

Save the Children is the national leader in protecting children in emergencies, and has been helping children and families most impacted by poverty in rural Kentucky since 1932. Today, this also includes leading high-quality early education programs in some of the most impoverished rural communities, to help children succeed in school and life.

By contributing to Save the Children’s Eastern Kentucky Flood Crisis Fund, you will help provide desperately needed relief to families impacted by the flooding. To learn more about Save the Children, please go to www.SavetheChildren.org.

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we've been advocating for the rights of children worldwide. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming the future we share. Our results, financial statements and charity ratings reaffirm that Save the Children is a charity you can trust. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.