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By: Marcus J. Hopkins, Founder & Executive Director
I hope that this post finds all of our readers well and that everyone is staying safe in the extreme summer temperatures. Our heart goes out to our fellow Appalachians living in southeastern Kentucky, who have been enduring historic flooding and the tragic loss of at least 25 souls. APPLI extends our deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones.
This actually highlights one of the reasons why I chose to focus the Appalachian Learning Initiative's work on the Appalachian Region: Appalachia's residents, particularly those living in rural parts of their respective states, often lack the financial means, access to transportation, and access to local and state government services that would enable and allow them to safely evacuate, recover, and repair when natural disasters occur.
That lack of access extends beyond just government services; it includes a lack of access to broadband services, reliable cell phone service, medical services, educational services, and the social services that could help redress some of the generational poverty issues that have plagued the region.
With the launch of APPLI's new website, visitors will likely notice that there are a handful of areas that are still under construction. Please be assured that these sections are coming soon; we wanted to get the site launched, first, and add our work as it further develops.
The two areas that are currently under development are the Public Health and Public Services sections: The Public Health section will be highlighting the state of public health outcomes in the Appalachian states, including a variety of topics, from Adult Obesity and Diabetes prevalence to incidence rates of infectious diseases. In addition to reporting on these topics, we will also be exploring the underlying causes of these issues, such as the Social Determinants of Health, that place Appalachians at some of the highest rates of risk in the United States.
The Public Services section will focus on the state of social and health services provision by local, state, and federal agencies and programs. We will be explaining some of the barriers that people living in Appalachia face when attempting to access services that help with childcare, transportation, housing insecurity, food insecurity, and healthcare coverage and services.
We are also further developing our "Resources" section that will eventually provide links to websites and agencies where people living in Appalachia can seek assistance with educational, public health, and public services. Visitors are also able to see where we gather our data for reporting on various issues. Again, we are expanding this over time, and hope to have it fully populated with content and resources in the near future.
So...there is work to be done, and what is currently there is likely to be updated as new data become available. We are continuing to grow and look forward to you growing with us. Please remember to follow us on social media and to like and share our posts.
Sincerely, Marcus J. Hopkins Founder & Executive Director Appalachian Learning Initiative