WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV – We're just a few days from the one-year anniversary of the historic and deadly flooding that captured the nation. The Alleghany highlands were hit, but communities in West Virginia were devastated.
White Sulphur Springs was practically underwater; lives were lost and houses ripped apart.
Sometimes it's hard to find hope in the aftermath of historic and deadly flooding, but in White Sulphur springs, at the edge of the city, hope has found a home.
"It's wonderful to have a place to call home again,” said Shairleen Wykle.
Shairleen Wykle is a new resident of Hope Village, a small community sprouting up for flood-affected residents. Wykle was forced to move after the flood covered her forever home in mold.
"I lived where I lived since 1953, so that was a long time. And we built it, so that meant a lot too. But this is really nice,” said Wykle.
Homes for White Sulphur Springs along with the Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation, Main Street White Sulphur Springs and other community partners are working toward filling this field with more than 40 homes for flood victims like Wykle. Volunteers have played a big part in that growth. Even today, one year later, you can still find them hammering away to help give someone in need a home sweet home.
"Our whole purpose is to serve the Lord, and we're able to serve the lord by doing construction. There was a flood here and there's a need for homes to be built,” says Steve Smith, team coordinator for Mission Builders.
"I just hope they don't think it's a burden for us. We have fun the entire time, we're with an awesome group and it's an awesome community from what we've seen,” said Ellie Schabel, with Christian Youth Fellowship.
Hope is what we hold onto when everything else disappears. That's the story of Hope Village in White Sulphur, a place where a woman at almost 82 years young can start a new chapter in life.