Having declared its frenetic initial push a success, the Home for the Holidays initiative — new name coming — is looking to transition forward.
Representatives of the effort recently explained that it will have placed 27 people — 16 households — into stable housing with case management and wraparound services by the end of the year.
Rachael Coen, chief programs officer with the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, said a big part of this next phase will be the annual point in time homeless count to be held Jan. 22-23.
The count indicates the number of unsheltered homeless in Monongalia County, which nearly doubled from 13 to 25 between January 2018 and January 2019.
When you add in emergency shelters (41) and transitional housing (28), the total number of people experiencing homelessness on Jan. 23, 2019, was 94.
“This year, we have added additional questions. We’ll be doing an expanded point in time count to gather even more data than in years past,” Coen said. “It’s our baseline for comparing what we’re doing and whether it’s working.”
The Home for the Holidays push is one of two efforts underway. The City of Morgantown plans to hire a consultant to head up a 9-12 month evaluation of homelessness and addiction issues in and around the city’s downtown.
Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom said there should be some discussion about how these parallel efforts can align and what roles the city and county could take.
Coen explained that WVCEH has yet to be contacted by the city.
“The process already exists. It’s existed. We’re required under the Balance of State Continuum of Care to have a process in place,” Coen said when asked about the city’s efforts. “We’ve not been contacted at all, but we’re here. We’re available.”
Milan Puskar Health Right Executive Director Laura Jones echoed Coen’s sentiments, explaining that a lot of the information and expertise is there for the asking.
“When you look at that [city] plan, there are things that already exist in our community. If it’s the city that has questions about how these things operate, that’s one thing, but that’s not really what’s necessary for a plan to move forward because those things exist,” Jones said.
“There’s so much work that goes on behind the scenes. Our goal is to keep people healthy and alive, which means we don’t want them sleeping outside.”
If you’re interested in volunteering for the upcoming point in time count, additional information and registration is available at wvbos.pointintime.info/.
If you’re a landlord interested in working with the housing initiative, send an email to info@wvceh.org.
