Mayfield nonprofit building 24 homes after receiving $2.4 million from state's tornado relief fund

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky is partnering with a Mayfield nonprofit to construct 24 homes using $2.4 million from the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday.

The Hope Initiative is a local nonprofit that provides new housing in Mayfield and Graves County. The state funding will purchase building materials for the homes.

"As I’ve said from day one, we will be with this community until every structure and every life is rebuilt," Beshear said in a news release Wednesday. "This project gives more Mayfield families who had to leave the area an opportunity to move back home."

According to a news release, the project is focused on people who had to relocate and now have longer commutes with higher rents in surrounding cities.

"The Hope Initiative has worked to serve the needs of our community throughout each phase of recovery," said Stephen Boyken, founder and president of the Hope Initiative. "In our long-term efforts, the biggest need has been housing solutions for renters whose home was lost or destroyed by the tornado.

The nonprofit's program gives citizens the chance to become homeowners, and also provides financial management and life skills training. The Hope Initiative has nine homes under construction and is developing a neighborhood for 16 more, according to a news release. It has also provided roofing materials to repair 100 homes.

The Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief has raised over $52 million, according to a news release.

Fore more information about Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, click here.