Owsley County Outreach
606-593-8292 office
606-493-6007 cell
P.O Box 133
Booneville, KY 41314
The oldest mountains in America are rich in natural beauty with their raging creeks, steep hollows and old pines. They are also one of the poorest, in America.
By KETURAH GRAY
ABC News did a story on Owsley County after the census report was published and found that Owsley had the lowest median household income outside of Puerto Rico. In 2010, the median income decreased to $18,869 from $20,346 in 2000. At one time, Owsley was a coal mining and lumbering community. Today, neither industry exists in any meaningful way. Chronic unemployment, coupled with increasing drug abuse issues, including a meth problem, have left families in poverty. (Meth use and production continue to grow in our rural areas at an alarming rate. For an excellent read on this crisis in America, I highly suggest Meth Land by Nick Reding). Census statistics
: Owsley County, Kentucky. The county is in the heart of Appalachia, “we see hunger here in Owsley County.”
One of the OCO’s largest programs is its Food Backpack Program. Each Friday children are sent home with backpacks filled with seven easily prepared meals and two to three snacks. The Outreach center found that many children were not eating over the weekends–their last meal would be Friday during their school lunch and their next meal wouldn’t come until Monday morning at school. Almost unfathomable isn’t it? This was due to poverty, their parent’s drug use and/or a combination of both.
it is difficult to reach children when school is not in session to give them food. They w face the same issue in San Francisco, and other cities “but here, children cannot walk to a nearby distribution center, our kids live 20 miles from the school. They can’t walk 20 miles into town to get food.” that many children in Owsley live with their elderly grandparents which diminishes their mobility, this was mostly due to the parents’ drug problems.
One of OCOC board members stated, “Living 3 hours away, it would be easy to ignore the problem. And even easier not to drive down with a busload of clothes and groceries, as he is known to often do. “I want to give back. My dad, who passed several years ago, was very passionate about helping Owsley. He then told me a story about when he gave a pair of Nike sneakers to a young boy who was visiting the OCO. The boy was thrilled. “Once you see it and feel it, you’re in good shape. You know every little bit helps.”
What You Can Do For Owsley County!
I asked Mr. Turner and he said, (President of Board of OCOC) “We need money and food.” We are concerned that perhaps it sounded too blunt to say that money was needed. The truth is, nonprofits need money. It is how programs run. The food in the backpacks is purchased at reduced rates, but it is still purchased. We have rent, utilities etc. (NO Salary’s)
This grassroots organization needs funds to keep their programs running and keep kids fed over the weekend. To make donation go to http://www.owsleycountyoutreach.org
As Mr. Turner ended our call he said, “Any little bit helps.”
Prayers are GREAT! In God We Trust
Owsley County Outreach 