Commissioners say community, not government, the answer to unhoused crisis

May 15—MORGANTOWN — Members of the Monongalia County Commission on Wednesday reiterated their belief that it's not solely the responsibility of government to solve social issues, like homelessness.

As has been the case in recent weeks with Morgantown City Council, the last two commission meetings have included extensive conversations about the area's ongoing struggles to assist an ever-increasing number of unhoused individuals with a rapidly decreasing stock of available beds.

The commission is willing to participate in the community effort, Commissioner Tom Bloom said, "but I've been participating for 10 years, and we're going in circles."

As he did last week, Bloom said city and county governments are not social service agencies but can be powerful allies of such agencies.

"I'm a little worried that the nonprofits, for whatever reason, are not coming forward to take the lead. We have everything from the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness to all these different groups ... 24 different groups that we fund and offer programs to, but we're not getting anywhere, " he said.

Bloom's comments were in response to remarks offered by local advocate Dani Ludwig and Morgantown City Councilor Danielle Trumble, both of whom pressed the commission to get involved.

"I am especially grateful that Mon County does choose to support many of our nonprofit organizations through funding, but in addition to funding what we really need is action, " Trumble said. "I would love to say that this is the time when we should be proactive, but we can't really even say that because we're already late to the party, I think."

According to Trumble, city administration is working on a request for proposals seeking agencies willing and able to run an emergency warming shelter this winter.

Given the ongoing fiscal crisis facing Bartlett Housing Solutions, that agency is almost certainly not going to be able to do so as questions remain as to whether it will remain solvent beyond the next couple months.

The year-round Bartlett House emergency triage shelter in Hazel's House of Hope is scheduled to close in the coming weeks due to the nonprofit's financial issues.

Trumble said Morgantown Community Resources, which serves as landlord for the HHH property, continues to look for an agency that can operate a shelter, at least temporarily, once that occurs.

According to Trumble, MCR is also discussing the installation of lockers that would provide unhoused individuals with a secure place to store their belongings.

"We're having the conversations, " she said. "Please come to the table."

Ludwig said she and others are advocating for a housing-first approach, explaining that whatever additional assistance people need—be it with addiction, mental health or something else—becomes exponentially more difficult to provide when they're living outdoors.

The issue with that, Bloom said, is it requires available housing.

He pointed back to the 2019 winter housing blitz dubbed Home for the Holidays, which saw some 27 people in 16 households placed in housing in a little over a month.

Bloom said willing landlords were a major component of that success, but property damage, community polarization and a host of other issues have driven many property owners from the table.

"I have reached out to different landlords, and it is very difficult. When I talk with them, they will say they would rather leave their apartment unfilled than to offer services, " Bloom said. "I don't know what we can do to help out on that, because there was a lot of destruction and a lot of problems."

In the end, Ludwig said she knows there are people who care and people who have and are trying to help.

She's just frustrated with the lack of progress.

"I understand this is not just a city issue or a county issue. It's a worldwide issue, but here in Mon County, we are supposed to protect people who live in our county and our community and we're not, " Ludwig said. "I wish I had answers, but I don't. I'm coming to you asking for help."

"Help, " being the operative word according to Commission President Sean Sikora.

"That's the important distinction. We can be part of the solution, but we can't be the solution. The city can't be the solution. We have to work within our community to figure out what that solution is and then give them the tools to help deal with the situations that affect our citizens, " he said.

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