MORGANTOWN — Inspired by mission work building similar structures in Honduras, a group from the Morgantown Church of Christ has come to the city proposing the construction of up to 50 non-congregate shelters as resources for the area’s unhoused community.
Representatives from the church pitched the idea to Morgantown City Council Tuesday evening. It was the lone presentation in a meeting dominated by discussion of a potential encampment ban across all city property.
Youth Pastor Brandon Brammer explained the overnight shelters would provide much-needed options.
“If we’re going to say, ‘You can’t be here and you can’t be here and you can’t be here,’ where can they be?” he asked. “Outlawing camping does not suddenly grant them the ability to be somewhere else.”
In the proposal, the church is looking to raise funds and supply the labor to build 50 10×12 foot structures at an estimated cost of $3,000 each, though the actual number is expected to be significantly lower through bulk purchasing.
Brammer said he’s already raised $10,000 in pledges from local businesses.
It’s anticipated each structure would have two twin beds and potentially a single electrical outlet.
“It is not meant to be a permanent shelter. It’s not meant to be a home. It’s somewhere to be warm and be out of the weather that is not an unsightly camp,” he said.
“I’m not going to be able to convince you that building these structures is going to save everyone who’s on the street. That’s not going to happen. I do not believe that to be true. But I do know that it can make the difference in someone’s life, so I’m willing to try.”
If interested, the city is being asked to contribute on two fronts — assistance locating land on which to build and an agency to manage the properties.
The Hazel’s House of Hope campus, on Scott Avenue, was an initial suggestion as for where the structures could be located.
Mayor Joe Abu-Ghannam said Catholic Charities CEO Mark Phillips called the proposal “an ideal situation” that the agency may be willing to help support through the facilitation of funding and/or administrative oversight.
Catholic Charities already has a presence at Hazel’s House of Hope and is expanding its role to oversee the former Bartlett House triage shelter at that location.
Councilor Brian Butcher said he believes these structures could be an excellent way to get many people out of the weather quickly, but oversight and access to case managers would need to be critical components.
“Probably the biggest component as to whether this is successful is how we do case management,” Butcher said.
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