Amish groups helping to rebuild Western Kentucky

BARNSLEY, Ky. (WFIE) - A lot of work remains left to be done in Western Kentucky, and many groups of Amish people have taken it upon themselves to make sure that work gets done.

December’s tornadoes destroyed many homes, as well as damaged many of those that still stood.

”We all have the same problem: this was our home,” Barnsley resident Rebecca Perkins said. “And when it happened, you’ve got to find somewhere to go because you can’t stand out in the rain and the wind.”

After weeks of cleanup and tearing down houses that were too far gone, the rebuilding effort has begun, and groups of Amish people have been coming to the area to help.

Those who have received their help say it’s hard to describe how it feels.

”The easiest way to do is to say it’s been a godsend,” Perkins, whose house is being repaired by an Amish group said.

14 News spoke with a group who didn’t want to appear on camera, and they don’t want any focus to be on them. They say they’re helping because if they were the ones in need, they hope someone would be willing to help in the same way.

Their efforts have already made an impact.

”As much difference as daylight and dark,” Billy Wells, who has been organizing the rebuilding effort in the area said. “Without their help, we wouldn’t be anywhere. It wouldn’t be much different than it was the first day, and I think everybody that’s seen it will agree with that.”

Wells says he’s seen about 40 groups of Amish people get involved, ranging in size from three to 30 people each.

Perkins says there are a lot of elderly people in the area who aren’t getting as much from insurance as they had hoped, and would struggle to take care of everything on their own.

All this help has made a big difference.

”They’ve been a blessing to everybody in this neighborhood,” Perkins said. “They came in, they’ve helped, they just get right to work, and that’s amazing.”

The group that 14 News spoke with came from LaGrange, Indiana, a few hundred miles away, but Wells says some have come from even farther away.

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