Camp Graves, a nonprofit organization based out of Water Valley, Kentucky, is best known for providing temporary housing to local families who have faced disasters like the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado. Office Manager Cassy Basham says that’s the simple part.

Beyond housing, Camp Graves offers residents a wide range of supportive services to lead them on a path towards self-reliance. These range from educational programs teaching residents basic life skills to access to medical and mental health services. Basham estimates that their resource bank surpasses 3,000 pages and grows by 50 pages a week.

“Our goal is to be able to provide up-to-date resources,” Basham said. “There hasn’t been a concentration of that information in our area before, so that’s something we do here.”

The mission of Camp Graves is not just to offer residents short-term aid, but to empower them to be able to provide for themselves long after their time on the property.

“We are really and truly trying to help build these people into very successful and prudent people,” Director Micah Seavers said. “That’s not just while they’re here. When they leave they’re a help to the community.”

In pursuit of this goal, Camp Graves runs a tight ship. Residents are restricted from alcohol use and there is random drug testing. Families are required to have one parent with a full-time job, with exceptions for elderly and disabled residents. People charged with or convicted of violent or sexual crimes are not accepted as residents.

Seavers said while some people see these rules as harsh, they exist to create a safe environment where people can better themselves. These guidelines disqualify Camp Graves from the vast majority of government funding, which makes grants and donations from individuals and private organizations essential. As more time passes since the tornado that initiated Camp Graves’ creation, finding that funding becomes more complicated.

“Eventually the tornado money is going to dry up,” Basham said. “Then it’s us seeking grants that are already in existence. I like to tell people that this is a temporary opportunity to create a permanent resource.”

Camp Graves continues to expand its mission with additional sites being built in Mayfield, Kentucky. The two projects are Camp Sanctuary and Camp Rendezvous. Both focus on communities that have been especially vulnerable to the effects of the 2021 tornado.

Camp Sanctuary will provide housing to the local Hispanic community. Seavers said a language barrier kept many of these families from knowing there was help available to them in the aftermath of the tornado. Some people also used this barrier to take advantage of these families, he said.

“Some had their homes purchased because they were told they were too damaged to be repaired,” Seavers said. “And now they’re rental houses. People got them to sign over FEMA money when they were purchasing these houses. This is stuff that’s all legal, but not right. There’s a difference.”

The building is located near St. Joseph Catholic Church, which has a significant Hispanic congregation. Camp Sanctuary will involve educational programs similar to those at Camp Graves, like banking information and the English classes taught at St. Joseph. Seavers said the goal is to get the program fully functioning and pass it off to the church and Catholic charities.

Camp Rendezvous will focus on providing housing and job opportunities to veterans. Seavers said that the initial group will be local tornado victims, but after that they don’t care where the veterans come from. The building will have a built-in work center where residents will immediately gain a source of income.

“I’ve noticed over the years, working with different veterans and veterans groups, that some of them have a hard time assimilating back into the workforce,” Seavers said. “One of the hardest things to do is to get a regular job.”

The program will create a more manageable path towards learning a trade and getting a civilian job. Similarly to Camp Sanctuary, the goal is to transition the program to a veterans organization after it is fully functioning.

There is also a project in the development stage that Seavers hopes will become the organization’s flagship: Fostering Potential. The program will allow foster youth who have not been adopted by 16 the opportunity to access two years of free housing in single-room units. To qualify, they must agree to graduate high school, abstain from alcohol and drug use, stay out of jail and participate in volunteer programs.

“They get a free place to live for two years, and we’ve got all these supportive services that we’ll line up,” Seavers said. “We’re going to teach them cooking, cleaning, shopping, banking, everything. Teach them how to live life. But we’ve also got connections that we’re making now, and we’re reaching out for more, with factories, union jobs, apprentice jobs, trade schools and colleges. Everything that these kids can step right into.”

Seavers said while they may not be able to provide these youths with a family, they can provide them with a support system.

“That’s what this world is built on, being able to have people to lean on when you need it,” Seavers said.”Then to become strong yourself so that people can lean on you.”

The end goal for all of these programs is more or less the same, to give people in need the assistance and structure they need to become self-reliant, productive people. Seavers and Basham said not everybody is receptive to the kind of help they provide, but those that are make all of the hard work worthwhile. Camp Graves’ staff calls them the “Wins”.

“I tell people all the time, the most selfish thing we get to do is enjoy the success stories that we don’t tell,” Seavers said. “I don’t like handing people things and taking pictures of it. I hate it. We keep most of our success stories pretty well to ourselves. But one of the most rewarding things is seeing people realize that they are better than what they were, that they can be more.”

“We have seen people come in here, sit at that table crying their eyes out and say ‘I’m ready to end my life today,’” Basham said. “And within a few months they have a job, certifications, education. They got their kids back or got a new car or a promotion. You see people go from their absolute lowest to thriving. Our success stories, again, they’re not on the news. They’re not public, but they’re absolutely the core of Camp Graves’ mission and they’re certainly what keeps us motivated to keep doing this.”

Visit campgraves.org to donate or to schedule an appointment to apply for services.