A Week with Alternate Spring Breaks and the Appalachia Service Project

For the week of Spring break, I had the opportunity to participate in an alternate break to Chavies, Kentucky, where groups were sent into the local community to repair homes.

Chavies, in the heart of Kentucky coal country, proved to be one of the most impoverished place I had ever seen. Dilapidated homes dotted the valleys at the base of sheer, craggy mountainsides, their yards littered with trash and discarded items. The Appalachia Service Project headquarters sat atop a wooded hill far from town, and the home that the ETSU group repaired was at least as remote.

Our task for the week involved insulating and underpinning the new addition that the homeowners, Paul and Tammy, had built onto their home before Paul, a carpenter himself, became disabled. The work was exhausting, but meeting Paul, Tammy, the ASP staff, and volunteer groups from other universities made it all worth it.

Volunteering with ASP for a total 35 hours during the week and having the opportunity to hear from locals and ASP staff about the community taught me about the issues of poverty and addiction faced in central Appalachia and the causes behind these issues. With this new facet to my world view, I hope to incorporate my knowledge of the needs and struggles in central Appalachia into my efforts at responsible decision-making.