Homeless among those hardest hit by flash flooding

RICHMOND—Following a day of flash floods that killed at least three in Madison County and one in Jackson County, dozens of people sought assistance from disaster relief shelters in the City on Saturday night, according to shelter workers.

At Madison Home on Fifth Street, Raymond Harris said 15 people came to the shelter in search of aid. "These people lost everything they owned," Harris told The Edge in an interview. "It just all washed away."

On Second Street, where Enrich, a one-stop resource for persons in need, had set up 25 cots in a make-shift sleeping area, Program Director Adam Herald said 20 persons came in search of aid. "But because of disaster relief funds provided from local area churches, we had enough funds to put them in area hotels," Herald told The Edge. In all, Herald said 14 persons were placed in hotels, while six persons were referred to Haven of Hope, a homeless shelter on Steep Street in the City.

"I am not sure if all 20 of them needed beds, but they all were in search of some kind of help, and they all received the resources they needed," Herald said.

Herald said Enrich had been working with the Madison County Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross to help those affected by the floods. Because Enrich is not an actual shelter, the organization received temporary authorization from the County to operate as one.

As to whether Enrich's Second Street location would continue its temporary shelter operations, Madison County Deputy Judge Executive Jill Williams told The Edge in an interview, "We have not identified the need to operate a 24/7 shelter at this time. We have not had that request."

Lynne Washbish, executive director of the American Red Cross Bluegrass Area, told The Edge in an interview that the Red Cross will be closing the shelter on Second Street today at 5pm. "All of our clients have found other places to go, or are returning home," she said.

In all, Washbish said her team assessed 20 homes that sustained some level of damage, including two that were severely damaged. "Some people are staying with friends or family, but most were able to go back home," she said.

Empty beds despite increased need

At Madison Home, despite the organization's 50 beds, questions about where to house those who lost their encampments or other shelters in the floods remain. That's in part due to the City having revoked the shelter's certification of occupancy, alleging the lack of a fire sprinkler system made the building unsafe.

The shelter had been operating under a conditional use permit prior to the legal spat which began last December. Madison Home leadership sued the City to remain open, but a judge denied an injunction for the shelter and it had to close its overnight facilities. Now, a decision from the state's building code authorities is still pending.

But the lack of beds is also due to a growing number of those in need set against a lack of resources Countywide. Haven of Hope's 30 beds are currently the only available overnight accommodations for the entire County's unhoused population, which the state currently puts at 71 (not including anyone who lives in their car, or who was left homeless after this weekend's flash flooding).

This lack was exacerbated last month when the Up Initiative in Berea was shut down due to code violations. Room in the Inn, another homeless shelter program, offers emergency housing only in the Winter months.

The legal wrangling between Madison Home and the City seemed to have been put on pause Saturday night when the County Emergency Management Agency listed Madison Home as an official emergency assistance overnight location along with Enrich.

"We were an emergency landing and assistance center as designated by the county government," Michael Frazier, a board member for Madison Home, told The Edge in a sit down interview. "We did provide shelter for those who were displaced by flooding."

'A river coming at us'

David C., who looked to be about in his mid-20s, was one of those who stayed overnight at Madison Home. David and his service dog, Scout, along with David's younger brother Zack, had been living in a ravine between Ky 388 and Red House Road in the Eastern portion of the County when the area began to fill with water.

"We'd been just cowboy camping there, just sleeping bags, no tent, but then it was a river coming at us, so we got out of there," David said. He and his companions did not lose their belongings except for some food rations, he said. "Then we just started walking into town. My boots are still wet," he said.

David said he has a job as a graphic designer, and that he and Zack had only recently become homeless after it was discovered he'd been living with an elderly person he'd been taking care of at Madison Towers, but wasn't on the lease. David, who wore a wedding band, said the money he earns goes to his wife and kids whom he said lives with his mother-in-law in Panama City, Fla., where he said he is from originally.

Harris, the homeless man who volunteers at Madison Home, told The Edge that many of the homeless population in Madison County have jobs, but can't afford a home. Others, like himself, have felony records, and so cannot find jobs.

Frazier added that the three most common reasons people in the County find themselves in homeless shelters is that they have had a history of serious drug use, they are a senior who has lost a home because they could no longer afford the rising property taxes and insurance, as The Edge recently reported, or they are impacted by poverty.

When a reporter asked Harris what he thought would be the greatest need in his community after the floods, he said, "I won't sugar coat it. We need our building to open. Haven of Hope only has 30 beds. She ain't allowed no more. It ain't her fault. She would have more if she could. There's not enough places in our County for us."

Frazier said that on occasion, the scarcity of beds in the County sometimes leads to houseguests. "Both Madison Home and Haven of Hope staff have taken people in and let them live with us in our homes," said Frazier. "We don't know what else to do."

For now, Frazier said that Madison Home will remain open overnight tonight, as he has not heard anything from the County about shutting down. "The City is still under a State of Emergency, and we attempted to reach the County, but they haven't gotten back to us," he said.