LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX18) — When homes need rebuilding and hope needs to be restored, who better to call than a superhero?
John Buckland is known as the West Virginia Batman.
He recently spent two days in flood-stricken Kentucky. He visited with families, delivered toys and met some of the community's heroes.
He knows a hero when he sees one, but when you pull back the Batman mask, John Buckland hasn’t always felt worthy of the title.
“I went through really bad child abuse, of all kinds,” he said. “That spiraled me out of control because no one really got me any help. That hurled me into drug addiction, depression, and suicide. One day I woke up and said it’s time to do something with this.”
For the last decade, he’s donned the cape and traveled to natural disaster sites, providing hope for kids living through life’s hardest moments.
“If I can show up and inspire them, that ‘Hey, you too can do something amazing with this very painful thing that you’ve gone through,’ that’s what life is all about," he said.
This story was originally reported by Megan Mannering on lex18.com.
