Hope on Higher Ground

HOMEOWNERS Arvin and Carolyn
PROJECT New Home
BUILDER Housing Development Alliance
LOCATION Knott County, KY

Arvin, his wife, and two children originally came to the Housing Development Alliance through our income-based Homeownership Program. Their HDA-built home was leveled by the July 2022 East Kentucky flood.

Floodwaters covered the home in a little over an hour and pushed the house completely off its foundation, carrying it over a quarter of a mile away before it crashed into a bridge. Arvin and his family barely escaped the flood, frantically jumping into a vehicle with no four-wheel drive and flooring it up the side of a mountain to get to safety.

When the floodwaters receded, Arvin searched for what was left of his home and found that only his daughters’ bedrooms had survived.

“Walking down that road and seeing our home demolished for the first time was painful. All that hard work was gone in just a couple of hours,” Arvin said.

Mourning the loss of their home and their best friend—their dog, Buddy—Arvin and his family moved into a travel trailer.

Almost five months after the flood, the family of four was still living in the travel trailer’s cramped space, but now, the family has hope. HDA is working on Arvin’s new home in a different location in Knott County and on higher ground.