West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Us & Them: Housing Options Are Few & Far Between In Appalachia

Trey Kay
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Home ownership in America is one of the most common ways to build wealth for future generations. 

But in Appalachia, West Virginia presents the complexities and nuances of that reality. The Mountain State has the nation’s highest homeownership rate but the second lowest personal income rate. 

And there’s another reality at work. Much of that housing is old and needs repair. In one West Virginia county, 67 percent of the homes are more than 80 years old and half rate below normal on standard quality measures. One estimate shows there are 500,000 people living in such conditions. This is a side of the housing crisis we don’t often hear — structures in disrepair without electricity, or running water, that people call home. 

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the CRC Foundation.

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Jim King is CEO of FAHE, an organization that brings people, organizations, and resources together to build houses and communities in Appalachia. FAHE works with more than 50 community-based non-profits in six Appalachian states to offer housing leadership in one of the most difficult places to serve in the country.

Courtesy of FAHE

“We have about 3.8 million households in Appalachia, and by several measures, there are half a million people living in homes built before 1930 or in families earning less than 30% of area median income. Cuts to the HUD budget this year have hit federal assistance hard, leaving people with less buying power. All things equal, if your income is very low, your ability to find a decent place to live is very limited.”

– Jim King., CEO of FAHE

Joyce Vest has spent most of her life on a piece of land near Faber, Virginia. The 76-year-old, who suffers from emphysema, once lived in a home in desperate need of repairs. For several years, she resided in a makeshift dwelling consisting of two trailers pushed together under a roof pieced together over the jerry‐rigged structures. She had no running water or electricity, and over time, storms damaged her walls.

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

“Back then I would get the water in a barrel for cleaning and cooking and all that stuff. I got a big pot out there that I use heat water in to bathe and stuff.  I used wood and had a flue that I had built in for heat.”

– Joyce Vest

Joyce Vest stands on her front porch with her veterinarian and friend, Stacey Reeder. Several years ago, Vest brought in her dog, Sassy, for an exam after noticing the pet’s wounds weren’t healing. Reeder visited Vest’s home and found that the living conditions were challenging. Reeder helped Vest connect with the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP), which offers programs ranging from septic and well services to community development and indoor plumbing for homeowners from Delaware to Florida.

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

“I just realized when I came out here that that’s not a way for her to live, and if I could help her, we were going to do so. We started searching and looking [to find a service to help], and it took a couple of years before we had the house. It was one of those things that was on my heart that I had to do. To be honest, I didn’t realize people lived like that — without electricity and without water. I’m not sure how she did it, but she did. She managed. It was an eye-opening experience for me, and it made me realize that I needed to do some things.”

– Stacy Reeder, a veterinarian in rural Virginia

After veterinarian Stacey Reeder saw the condition of Joyce Vest’s home, she knew she had to act. A search online led her to the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP). Kenneth Rogers (pictured above), a rural housing specialist with the organization, was eventually put on the case. SERCAP helped Vest enroll in the Indoor Plumbing & Rehabilitation program.

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

“The Indoor Plumbing & Rehabilitation program is designed for low- to moderate-income homeowners who have no indoor plumbing, no potable water or a failed septic system. In her case, she had no well, no indoor bathroom and no septic system—so she fit the qualifications for the IPR program. It’s a common challenge: even if a septic system was installed 50 years ago, it may now have failed or be underperforming and must be replaced to meet new water regulations and prevent groundwater contamination. And if someone who is 70 or 80 years old—who has lived in their home for decades—suddenly finds that their septic system has failed, they may be forced to install an alternative system that can cost up to $40,000, an expense unaffordable on a fixed income.”

– Kenneth Rogers, rural housing specialist with Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP)

(Pictured above) Kenneth Rogers showed Us & Them host Trey Kay two composites: before-and-after photographs of Joyce Vest’s home, taken before SERCAP built a new structure with electricity and running water. Courtesy of SERCAP

This is the exterior of Joyce Vest’s home today.

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Joyce Vest’s cozy living room. Her modest home also includes a small kitchen, a bathroom, a laundry area and two bedrooms.

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Mel Jones is co-director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. She works with FAHE and has analyzed housing trends showing that about 190,000 homes were removed from Central Appalachia between 2015 and 2021. Dilapidated homes were torn down or converted to commercial uses — a transition that can lead to low vacancy rates, drive up housing costs and discourage landlords from opting into affordable housing programs. Low vacancy in an area creates “tight markets,” which results in increased competition and higher costs for new housing development. Jones says that while the GI Bill helped build generational wealth over decades, many people were left out.

Photo Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

“That means their families haven’t accumulated the wealth needed to pass on from generation to generation to ensure stability. People my age — and I’m among the oldest millennials — can buy homes largely because of intergenerational wealth. Without that, you lose access to safe, stable housing. Anyone could become homeless at any time — a huge medical expense could wipe you out and leave you on the street. We hear stories like that, but housing insecurity is mostly rooted in generations of being left out. We see it in Appalachia, where people live in old trailers, and in urban areas, where tenants endure poorly maintained rental homes while paying high rents. This isn’t so much a political divide as it is the result of setting our country on a wealth-building track that didn’t include everyone — and still doesn’t. It’s become an us-and-them scenario.”

– Mel Jones, co-director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech University

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