United Way of Southwest Virginia Tops $1 Million Allocated For Hurley Flood Relief

With more than $1 million allocated to families for relief through the Hurley Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG), United Way of Southwest Virginia (UWSWVA) is moving into a phase which includes assisting in the rebuilding of private bridges, and, in some cases, collaborating with faith-based groups in the construction of new homes.
UWSWVA President and CEO Travis Staton announced in the March 10 Hurley Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG) meeting that UWSWVA is working with faith-based groups from out of state to build up to eight brand new homes. The new homes will be for families whose previous homes were destroyed and whose property is clearly not in the area that is expected to be designated as the new floodplain.
In addition, Staton announced a funding schedule had been approved for helping homeowners who had lost bridges connecting their homes to the road. “The funding plan we had in place had only provided funding for bridges if a home had been destroyed. But there were a few cases in which homes had sustained less damage, while the bridges had been washed away. So, we’ve made the families who own those homes eligible for that same level of assistance for bridges.”
Those bridge funds are included in the figure of $1,002,000 UWSWVA has allocated to Hurley families. With $984,000 raised to date, there is currently a negative balance of between $17,000 and $18,000. “We feel confident we’ll be able to raise that,” Staton said.