In 2015, Brittany Miller and her family — barefoot and muddy — watched helplessly as flood waters washed away their home, car, and much of the community where they lived. “It just happened so fast,we had to run,” said
Brittany. The Miller family was left with very few worldly possessions. “The flood washed us completely out".
We lost everything we had. I was devastated.” Brittany, mother of eight, tried desperately to find a new home for her family. But when federal and state agenies were unable to help her family, she turned to CAP.
“When my older children were little, if we needed help,CAP would help,” Brittany said. “CAP has been a godsend,” she added. CAP’s Housing Program assessed the Miller’ situation,
considered the funds available from FEMA, and determined that the best course of action was to build a new home.
“They were in a desperate situation because they had no home that we could repair,” said Bryan Byrd, CAP’s Housing manager in Johnson, Floyd, and Martin counties. “Brittany had done everything she could to work through the situation on her own — she even secured FEMA funding for this new home on her own. Brittany needed CAP’s help to take the next step.”
Over the course of two years, CAP worked with Brittany to secure land on which to build and then went to work on the construction of her new home. During WorkFest and YouthFest, CAP’s alternative Spring Break programs, students from across the nation spent a combined three weeks working on the Miller family’s home.
Grateful for the service of these young volunteers, Brittany explained that the work they did went far beyond mere construction, it created a safe space to create new memories. Brittany dreams of watching her daughter play in the yard and is excited about the memories that will be created.
Holidays like Christmas and Easter will take on new meaning when they are celebrated in this new home. To learn more about how your gifts provide safe, warm, and dry homes to families in need, visit ChristianApp.org.
