Kentucky disaster recovery surpasses 100 projects after winter building blitz
Disaster ReBuilders President Bart Tucker credits Moyer for much of the success in Kentucky, comparing her efforts to strong local leadership from construction leaders Nathan West in western North Carolina over the past year and Rusty Cready in eastern North Carolina since 2018.
“She’s doing a crackerjack job,” Tucker said. “I don’t touch a hammer. Our job is to facilitate what they’re doing on the ground, and that all depends on local leadership and the passion of the staff on the ground. It also requires the recruiting of volunteers with a passion for the mission, and they generally develop a passion for the community, too.”
Moyer gives most of the credit elsewhere.
“Honestly, throughout the last five years, we’ve witnessed miracle after miracle,” she said. “The only way that I can attribute our success is to God. We had the right people, the right skills, the right equipment, and all the right things showed up exactly when we needed them. Yes, we’ve had a lot of very dependable volunteers and hard workers, and we all give it our best, but none of those miracles could happen without His presence.”
Some of those miracles are small — but just as meaningful. She experienced one of those last week as they prepared to dedicate a new home for disabled veteran John Cain and his wife, Irene. It’s become tradition to present quilts to homeowner partners at these events, but Moyer was fresh out.
“I had an old quilt that I’ve had packed for a while, and I was going to use that,” Moyer said. “But the week before that, one of the ladies on the trip with Weaverland, the wife of a chaperone, brought along two quilts to finish during the trip. She finished two quilts, so I had this gorgeous, just-finished quilt from Weaverland to give them at the dedication.”
The Cain home was one of an increasing number of projects helping flood-displaced families — a growing trend. In fact, during the winter blitz, the Disaster ReBuilders completed an equal number of tornado-recovery and flood-recovery projects.
“They lost their home in the April 2025 flooding,” said Moyer, who noted that the home included wider doorways, a ramp, and a more accessible bathroom for John’s wheelchair. “On the outside, it looks salvageable, but on the inside it’s completely gutted. And now they’re in a floodplain, too. So we moved them to a higher elevation on their property using FEMA funds and grants — including support from The Fuller Center for Housing and Catholic Charities.”
That flooding spurred the Disaster ReBuilders to expand operations in the area.
“We decided to expand our radius to about an hour in every direction from Dawson Springs because the flooding hit Kentucky from one end to the other,” Moyer said. “We have so many waterways in Kentucky. And with the mountains in eastern Kentucky, a lot of the flooding there all filtered into the Ohio River Basin, and that area covers much of western Kentucky.”
Unfortunately, after two tornadoes and flooding in recent years, Moyer now finds herself worrying about the next potential disaster.
“Every time for the last five years that we thought we were finished, we realized that the journey was not over,” she said. “I keep seeing these crazy weather reports for this ‘super El Niño’ and things like that. I’m really hopeful that there’s nothing to worry about or keep us going.”
Previous disasters, however, have left plenty of work to do, and the Kentucky operation will begin accepting volunteer teams again in May. (See this page for details.)
“Some places like Cairo (a small community about 50 minutes north of Dawson Springs) are still rebuilding years and years later. And if you drive through Dawson Springs, there are still empty lots. Every year, we’re making improvements, but I still think there’s a lot left to be done in town, too. As long as there is a desire from donors, grantors, and others to continue rebuilding here, I would like to.”
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