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Presiding Bishop's Fund Provides Flood Relief

Diocesan Press Service. November 24, 1975 [75409]

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Pike County in the eastern part of the Diocese of Lexington was hit by a flash flood May 17 -- and the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief was the first to respond to the disaster. Some 290 families were affected by the flood, and approximately 140 houses and 60 mobile homes were left uninhabitable. Damage in the region was estimated at $1.5 million, and the county was designated a national disaster area.

On May 19 the Pike County Flood Relief Fund was established, with the Rev. George P. Donehoo, vicar of St. David's Episcopal Church there, appointed treasurer by the Pike County Ministerial Association.

On May 20, Fr. Donehoo received word from the Rt. Rev. Addison Hosea, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, that he was in receipt of a $2,000 grant from the Episcopal Church's national Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief to be used in the Pikeville area. According to Fr. Donehoo this was the first money received for the aid of flood victims in Pike County.

"I began to write checks against the fund immediately after receiving notification from the Bishop," he stated. An additional $800 came from other sources within the Episcopal Church. This $2, 800 was used for immediate needs of flood victims housed in schools and churches, for food, clothing, bedding, and for beginning the task of clearing debris left in the wake of the disaster.

The Kentucky Interchurch Disaster Recovery Program, which operates under the aegis of the Kentucky Council of Churches -- the Episcopal Church is one of 13 constituent communions -- soon went to the aid of the flood victims. The program is under the direction of the Rev. Roger Newell, on bishopric appointment from the United Methodist Church. Fr. Donehoo is a member by appointment by Bishop Hosea.

This interchurch program was able to help in areas where federal and state assistance could not reach. The loss of privately owned bridges, in most instances the only access to victims' homes, do not qualify for federal or state assistance, according to Mr. Newell. And quite soon victims learned that their homeowners' insurance policies do not cover flood damage. Because of federal and state red tape, grants to victims were often late in coming. One blind man in Pike County received his grant from the Department of Human Resources about November 1.

The Red Cross and Salvation Army responded immediately. Six radio stations -- four in Pike County, one in Letcher and one in Floyd County -- went on the air with appeals for help, adding greatly to the Flood Relief Fund.

Both Fr. Donehoo and Mr. Newell agree, however, that without the aid of the churches, help would have been longer delayed. "The Church was there before, during and after the disaster," stated Mr. Newell. In one of dozens of letters received by Fr. Donehoo, an aid recipient stated, "Yours was the first assistance we received and so far the only gift. "

Fr. Donehoo said that the Diocese of Lexington is deeply grateful for the grant from the Presiding Bishop's Fund. "It is good that we are able to use this money in our own country to meet the needs of our own people as well as to give assistance overseas, " he said.