When Josh Cole left Barbourville, KY, to go to college, he was determined to go back. It wasn’t something young people often did, Cole admits. “Like many other places in Appalachia, we’ve faced economic hardships. There is a lot of brain drain in the community.” Yet he had grown up admiring neighbors who showed up for others and organized mutual aid.

He found his way back two years ago serving with the American Connection Corps, an AmeriCorps program aimed at “connecting people to places and possibilities in digitally disconnected communities across America.”

He was posted at the Knox County library in his hometown, where he began helping patrons with everything from downloading important forms from the Internet to helping them avoid scams and identity theft. 

But soon after starting, he realized that the folks who most needed his help were those who didn’t have access to the library. “One of the biggest challenges in the county is lack of transportation. There’s no public transportation, so if people don’t have access to cars, they are in a rough spot,” says Cole. 

“On top of that, many people don’t have access to broadband. Those two can create such a sense of isolation that I feel like a lot of people in our community don’t feel connected to the place where they live.”

He went out to look for them. In his first year, Cole spent much of his time building relationships, visiting every space that would host him, from churches to ladies clubs, trying to find those who most needed his services. “My physical presence was capital in and of itself that I could use to build trust,” he says. 

It was slow work trying to get people to open up to him. “Historically, we have had a lot of people come to our town and say ‘we are going to help you out’ and it never leads to any meaningful progress,” says Cole. 

He would visit people again and again. “Sometimes we would talk about access to the Internet. Other times, we would just talk about their sick cat. I just wanted them to know that I was there, that I was interested, invested in our community, and that I wasn’t going to go away.” 

Over time, he built trust. At first, people asked for help with tasks like uploading a photo to Facebook and setting up an email account. As the relationships deepened, so did his ability to help. 

“There’s a lot of not-as-fun stuff that requires folks to open up,” he says, “like helping someone get the documents for a protective order or a divorce, or finding their medical information online.”

And he saw that neighbors needed more than just digital support. Cole started organizing activities at the library to build new friendships, including a book club every Wednesday. “We talk about the book for maybe 10 minutes and the rest is about what’s going on in the community, what we’re seeing, what we’re hearing. Honestly, you can’t beat old lady gossip to know what’s going on.”

Cole says, “People want community and want to fix the issues in our community. In Appalachia, we have a proud history of mobilizing ourselves. We just have to get back to it.”

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AmeriCorps is the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. Each year, the agency places more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors in community service roles.

If you’ve ever served or are interested in serving to support your community, join us and other weavers on March 26 at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT for Let’s Talk: AmeriCorps. It’s an hour-long, informal online conversation about service with Cole and some others sharing their experiences to get us started.

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