Action in Appalachia: Revealing Public Health, Housing, and Community Development records in the UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center

Grant funds will be used to hire a library manager to both process and supervise the processing of archival records in the Bert T. Combs Appalachian Collection. The materials comprise the operating records of four organizations that fought poverty in the Appalachian region through improvements in public health, housing, education, and community life. Founded in the wake of President Lyndon B. Johnsonfs 1964 declaration of the War on Poverty, these organizations sought to meet the needs of a region suffering from increased out]migration, poor sanitation, inadequate medical facilities, and high public school dropout rates. Beginning as a cooperative program in six Kentucky colleges, the Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach, Inc. (ALCOR) sought to improve health and sanitation; create centers of community enrichment and education; and increase communication in the Appalachian community. The Eastern Kentucky Health Services, Inc. (EKHS) grew out of and continued the health programs initiated by ALCOR. A nondenominational, ecumenical organization, the Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) distributed more than 14 million dollars in aid to community agencies and organizations in 12 Appalachian states. The Eastern Kentucky Housing Development Corporation (EKHDC) became the first rural housing demonstration project funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity and developed low cost housing particularly for the elderly. The records document the life]cycles of War on Poverty community driven initiatives to improve the quality of life for Appalachians. Currently unavailable to researchers, these records will advance scholarship and education in public policy, Appalachian studies, economics, social geography, history and more. The collections will be processed at the folder or item level as appropriate. A finding aid for each collection will be available online through ExploreUK and a catalog record through UK Libraries catalog system, Infokat.