Women should be welcomed as leaders in Appalachian Transition movement...

The Lexington Herald-Leader used their editorial space on Christmas to honor Mary Breckinridge, founder of the Frontier Nursing Service in Hyden, Ky. (Herald-Leader photo) The FNS and its nurse-midwives “deliver[ed] prenatal care, babies, inoculations and advice about sanitation and healthful living,” to Appalachian communities in eastern Kentucky for decades. The FNS became Frontier Nursing University, and now trains nurse-wives from across the world. The FNS and its midwives delivered thousands of Appalachian babies, but their impact on the region is immeasurable.  And it’s all thanks to Mary Breckinridge, who came into the region and helped the people, who needed attention – not just of the medical variety, but of the human kind, too. The editorial comes just days after the Daily Yonder profiled a new biography about Eula Hall, another of Appalachia’s fearless health crusaders. Hall started the Mud Creek Clinic in Floyd County in 1973 and, like Breckinridge before her, knew that one of the most vital keys to a brighter future for Appalachians was good health. Breckinridge and Hall represent the strong and rich history of women leaders in Appalachia. For every Breckinridge and Hall, there are countless other Appalachian women who have led or are leading families, healthcare initiatives, their communities and social change in the region. This legacy cannot and should not be forgotten as Appalachia transitions into a brighter future. The region has relied on women to lead its people throughout the decades. There’s no reason women can not help lead us home into a brighter...

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season! We'll be back with more news and stories of transition in the new...

SOAR offers hope for Eastern Kentucky’s transition

By now you’ve probably heard about the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) conference that was held last week in Pikeville – it’s certainly been all over the news here in Kentucky and we’ve been sharing more stories as they come in on our Facebook page. While the stage was dominated by bigwigs – with a few notable exceptions – the audience was filled with far more “regular folks,” people from the region who are hungry for action on economic diversification in the region. And at a time when it’s so easy to be pessimistic, the tone at SOAR was one of optimism. The morning was full of presentations and panels, some more useful than others. One of the most interesting speakers was Jenn Noble, a young entrepreneur (and the only Appalachian woman to speak) from Hazard who owns the Treehouse Café and Bakery. An artist, she had the opportunity to go to New York City but, she said, “My community needed me more than New York City,” and so she came back home.  Also interesting was the presentation by two brothers from the iron mining region of Minnesota, which suffered the same downturn in their industry that we are facing today. Their story was familiar – massive job losses, once-vibrant towns emptying, young people leaving to find opportunities elsewhere – but what they did about it is something we can learn from. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board was founded in the 1940s and is funded with mining taxes....

News Roundup from SOAR Summit

There has been so much coverage from the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Summit held in Pikeville, KY on Monday that it would be impossible to post all of them to social media. There will be a blog post covering our thoughts about the conference in the next couple of days, but in the meantime, check out the great articles, blogs and A/V coverage below. If we missed anything, let us know in the comments!  The Lexington Herald-Leader had a phenomenal two-day spread of op-eds on Sunday and Monday, featuring some insightful commentary and positive ideas about Eastern Kentucky's future: Editorial: CHARTING A NEW DAY | Can Eastern Kentucky – in all its confounding complexity, beauty and blight – reinvent itself? Bill Turner: Engage minorities in community-building Jeff Vanderbeck: Check egos, politics at summit's door Gerry Roll: 25 years of work showing results in Perry County Amelia Kirby: Amazing home worth fighting for Ron Eller: Imagine a different future Dee Davis: Stir up a new wind to sweep away the mess Jared Arnett: Long-term economic strategies must trump local politics Johnathan Gay: Create an ecosystem of entrepreneurship Jonathan Miller: Jobs now plus cost savings later make energy efficiency winning strategy Steve Cawood: No better work force than Appalachian coal miners Chris Barton: Develop skilled work force to reforest strip-mined hills George Freeman: Solve problems that scare away investors Al Smith: Restitution due for centuries of exploitation William Banks: Clean up, educate, cooperate to reconcile dual ID Jane Winkler Dyche: Vision, teamwork...

Opportunity and hope as ways to remedy drug addiction

There’s a giant, pervasive elephant in the room of Appalachia’s bright economic future: drug addiction. Literally billions of dollars have been spent trying to remedy this problem that has claimed thousands of lives and shattered thousands more. But it persists. The Lexington Herald-Leader editorial board suggests a root cause of this epidemic: “The most basic reason for this frustrating, tragic and expensive stalemate is lack of opportunity.” (Photo from Destination360) The editorial goes on: “Noting that a key predictor for drug abuse is low social rank, [Herald-Leader reporter Bill] Estep quoted Robert Walker, a researcher at the University of Kentucky's Center for Drug and Alcohol Research. ‘It's the belief that I can't do anything to fix this or make my life any better,’ Walker told Estep. ‘That is a profound risk condition for drug abuse.’ This is the same finding researchers elsewhere report. ‘Addiction always has a social element, and this is magnified in societies with little in the way of work or other ways to find fulfillment,’ David Nutt, a British researcher, told The New York Times. The Times reported on the findings of Columbia University's Carl Hart, whose research with crack and meth users found they turned down drug use when an attractive alternative was presented in the form of a monetary reward, even though it was delayed — a rational response. The response when no reward is on the horizon is equally rational, according to Hart. ‘If you're living in a poor neighborhood deprived of options,...

Highlander Center still accepting applications for Appalachian Transition Fellows...

The Highlander Center in East Tennessee will start its Appalachian Transition Fellowship Program next year, and as Erica Peterson of WFPL News in Louisville reports, the program will “select 15 communities in the Appalachian areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina. With input from those communities, they’ll select 15 fellows to undertake one-year economic development projects.” We've discussed the program on this blog before. (Photo by: AppFellows.org) Program coordinator Elandria Williams hopes this program will operate through a different framework than others: “What we’re saying is … the leaders we … must invest in are people from our area.” We hope program fellows will start important conversations in their Appalachian communities about the future of the region – conversations that will hopefully spur excitement and concerted action and effort around revitalizing and renewing Appalachia’s economy. The Highlander Center is currently accepting applications for fellows, and will be taking them until February. You can learn more about the Appalachian Transition Fellowship Program, and apply to be a...