Camp Graves, a western Kentucky nonprofit formed in the wake of the December 2021 tornado outbreak, is launching two new housing sites dedicated to aiding underserved populations impacted by the disaster.
Camp Sanctuary is intended to house Hispanic families, while Camp Rendezvous is intended to house single, male veterans. Those are two groups of people Camp Graves staff identified as needing extra support in tornado recovery efforts.
Cassy Basham is the office manager for Camp Graves’ main site in Water Valley – a small Graves County community around 20 minutes from Mayfield.
“When I could probably fill the veteran house, which houses nine… I could fill that over and over again at least once every two to three months. That says there’s a need,” she said.
Basham said organizations like the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, and the Combat Veteran Motorcycle Association, as well as social workers with Mayfield’s Veteran Affairs clinic, have reached out to Camp Graves requesting assistance for their members.
The need within Graves County’s Hispanic community was already well apparent to the Camp Graves team. Basham said that Hispanic and Latino individuals are a large portion of who the group works with.
“At least a quarter of the people that we were working with are underserved Hispanics,” Basham said. “If not closer to probably 30 or 40%.”
Around 13% of Mayfield’s nearly 10,000 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to census data. Organizations working with Spanish-speaking people in Mayfield have struggled in the past with overcoming the language barrier to connecting individuals with the help they need.
“Some of these organizations didn't have translators. We didn't have a translator until Mr. Freddie Gonzalez from St. Joseph helped [Camp Graves] out,” Basham said. “He started going with [Camp Graves staff] to the Hispanic homes.”
Now, Basham said the need for temporary housing is greater than it’s ever been in the long-term recovery process. More than two years after the deadly EF-4 tornado hit Graves County, she said some aid programs have begun to sunset.
“After [March], we'll be the only temporary housing programs still working with tornado survivors in Mayfield-Graves County. All the other temporary programs have expired… We're it.”
Ashley Prince lives with her partner and two children at Camp Graves’s main site. She said her current housing is a step up from where she was living previously.
After the tornado, Prince said she, her partner, and their two kids moved in with Prince’s parents who were taking in friends and family who’d lost their homes in Mayfield. Prince said that in total twelve people were trying to live under the same roof. She knew she wanted to eventually move out, but Prince said she was unaware at the time of resources available to tornado survivors.
“I didn't know [Camp Graves] existed because this place is very word of mouth,” Prince said. “It was actually through a family friend that pointed me in this direction, to where we can kind of make that step to get back out on our own.”
Now, Prince works as an office assistant for Camp Graves helping to make a comprehensive collection of resources that can be easily accessed by those seeking help outside of Camp Grave’s scope.
Camp Graves hopes to begin moving families into Camp Sanctuary by the end of April and allowing veterans to move into Camp Rendezvous by the end of July.
The move-in dates are contingent on how fast Camp Graves can wrap up construction and preparation for living at both sites. Currently, Basham said the group is lacking around $300,000 in funding to complete both projects. Through grant applications and private donations, she hopes to begin passing out house keys sooner than later.
“If we get the funding,” Basham said “We can make things happen. We've got volunteer groups who have already committed themselves to helping us with insulation, drywall and all these other things.”
Ultimately, Basham said it’s seeing the personal achievements of individuals rebuilding their lives that gives her and the rest of the Camp Graves team the motivation to keep fighting for expanded relief aid.
“And when you see those wins, that keeps you going,” she said. “That's what makes you go ‘Yep, Yeah. I'm coming back tomorrow.’”
