Welcome to Wyoming County, WV...

Flooding in Wyoming County, WV 2001

Many families are still living in the flood's aftermath--
waiting on assistance from FEMA and organizations like ASP.

Why We Work Here
Wyoming County is one of the poorest in Appalachia with a poverty rate of 25.1% (national rate is 12%) and a median household income of $24,030 in 2007. We have been a consistent presence in the area, since we own and routinely house volunteers at the Guyan Valley Center. ASP has built a great reputation in the community due to the hard work of several past staffs. Additionally, because of the large number of applications ASP receives in the area each year, we are committed to serving in the area for years to come.

Culture & History
Wyoming County was hit severely by flooding in mid-July 2001. More than eight inches of rain fell in the span of two hours, leaving no time for it to soak into the ground. Bridges caught downed trees and served as dams. Roads and railroads near bends in creeks were completely washed out. And many homes and businesses were completely covered in the flood waters. Fortunately, the rains came in the daytime, so there was only one casualty in the county. Had this occurred at night, hundreds could have died in the rapidly rising waters.

This severe flooding is the reason ASP had two centers in the county in 2002. Many people were affected, many still have not received help, and still others received temporary help from FEMA but have not yet repaired their homes to a point where they can live in them again.

Now, years later, there are still families who can use housing assistance, as we’ve been told by community members.

Our relationship with ASP...

Garber UMC has been participating in the Appalachia Service Project since 1997. Each year our group of teenage volunteers, young adults, and their leaders travel to West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, or Kentucky.

The Appalachia Service Project is a forty-year-old program of the Methodist Church whose focus is to make homes in Appalachia warmer, safer and drier. The trip involves two days of travel, a week of work, and one day of travel back home. The accommodations for the week long experience are usually schools that are converted into centers for the eight week program. College students, most of who were volunteers in the past, staff the centers.

The work is hard, hot, dirty, and very rewarding. The work ranges from digging for foundations or for retaining walls to protect homes from water damage, to finishing additions for expanding families. The families that are met and the relationships framed are the high point of the trip. The families have been warm and welcoming, and open our young peoples’ eyes to an entirely different culture in an entirely different part of their country. As our young people serve their Lord in this way, their lives are changed as they make changes in other peoples’ lives.