Reply #16: The very first step would be to bring in hunger relief. [View All]

[last1standing]

It seems more people know about the starvation in areas half a world away than know about the daily hunger that is found in their own back yards. Many Appalachians go hunger every day yet very little has ever been done about it. Food shipments would go a long way to relieving some of the desperation there.

Next would be the construction and staffing of proper educational facilities. This is the most educationally depressed area in the country, one of the worst in North America. Schools that actually teach children instead of merely babysitting is a necessity.

West Virginia lives on coal. As we've seen in the news, this is an extremely dangerous and unhealthy industry for workers. My grandfather was a coalminer and I remember the hacking and black mucus that would start each morning off for him until he died of black lung. A life mining is cruel punishment for a man and black lung is a crueler death. Let's get some work diversification there by creating entrepreneurial zones to encourage business. Of course an educated populace would help bring in new businesses as well.

Lastly, with these new businesses, brink in cultural diversity. Only 3% of the WV population is non-white and those numbers drop even more in the heart of Appalachia. Just like the integration of the military this is an area that needs to be diversified.

I think these things would begin a process of pulling these people out of despair.