PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Perry County family who lost their car in last week's flooding says the lack of transportation is directly impacting their ability to recover.
The family is now homeless and living in a shelter after the water pummeled into their rented home in Bulan. The water entered and swept away both their cars. John Shively showed LEX 18 the damage on Tuesday.
"It's destroyed," said Shively.
He says the water came and overtook the road within minutes as they tried to leave. They were stuck in place at the home for hours until the water finally receded. When he tried to exit the front door, Shively didn't realize his porch had caved into the basement and he fell through.
"I literally almost drowned," he said.
Shively has lived in the area for 20 years. He says he's been through several floods but none like this one. This is the first flood that's left them homeless.
"The hardest part of this situation, honestly people would think it's finding a home, but no it's the car because the car keeps the job, which gives me the money to get the home and be able to keep the home," said Shively.
Right now, he and his wife don't have reliable transportation to get to work. His wife can carpool, but he doesn't have that option. However, he knows he needs to find a way to keep going to work.
"It cost more to live than what you make any way around here," said Shively.
He's trying not to lose it but says it's hard. Like others in Perry County, his family was living paycheck to paycheck before the flood hit and do not have any savings.
Without water and power, Shively hasn't even started trying to clean the mess and mud inside the home. Yet when he looks around his living room at what's left, he feels grateful because he knows there are others who have it worse.
That realization makes him turn to little reminders to be thankful, like the memories of his mother who survived the damage.
"A lot of her angel figurines, which are important to me, are still in there on the TV stand still standing," he said.
Now they're just trying to take it day by day until they get to the other side.
They've created this fundraiser to get a new car. You can click here to donate.
