MAYFIELD, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday announced a partnership with Mayfield’s the Hope Initiative to build 24 homes for tornado survivors.
What You Need To Know
- A Mayfield nonprofit is helping build 24 new homes for survivors of the Dec. 2021 tornado
- Gov. Andy Beshear said the program will use $2.4 million from the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund to purchase needed materials
- Qualifying citizens receive both a new home and financial management and life skills training
- To date, the Hope Initiative has nine homes under construction and is developing a neighborhood for 16 more
In a press release, Beshear said the program will use $2.4 million from the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund to purchase building materials.
“As I’ve said from day one, we will be with this community until every structure and every life is rebuilt,” said Gov. Beshear. “This project gives more Mayfield families who had to leave the area an opportunity to move back home.”
The Hope Initiative is a local nonprofit working to provide new housing in Mayfield and Graves County. The nonprofit has been helping the community recover since the deadly tornadoes of Dec. 2021.
Gov. Beshear attended six home dedications for properties rebuilt on South 10th Street in Mayfield this week.
Since many renters had to relocate outside of Graves County, the latest project gives focus to those with longer commutes and higher rents in the surrounding cities.
“The Hope Initiative has worked to serve the needs of our community throughout each phase of recovery,” said Stephen Boyken, founder and president of the Hope Initiative. “In our long-term efforts, the biggest need has been housing solutions for renters whose home was lost or destroyed by the tornado."
The tornado that ripped through several counties in Western Kentucky left many people displaced, including people who had been renting homes. Boyken found that there wasn't a solid housing solution for those people.
“Consolidating lots and building homes and restoring families, giving them an opportunity, a pathway to home ownership, specifically for renters that lost their homes… that’s what we’ve been about," said Boyken.
The Hope Initiative’s Build Hope program offers an affordable pathway to homeownership. Qualifying citizens receive both a new home and financial management and life skills training.
To date, the Hope Initiative has nine homes under construction and is developing a neighborhood for 16 more. They have also provided roofing materials to repair 100 homes.
The Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund raised over $52 million with donations from over 150,000 individuals and businesses.