BY CARRIE HODOUSEK
Homeless individuals living along 18th Street, across from the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center in Wheeling, have until this afternoon to move to a new exempted site.
The new site, located off the maintenance trail along Wheeling Creek, is owned by the City of Wheeling. The former site was owned by the state.
Mark Phillips, executive director of Catholic Charities West Virginia, said there are challenges that come with the new location now that their Neighborhood Center is further away.
“It’s not under cover and there’s not an immediate access to resources, so it’s not ideal, but we’re grateful that the city was able to find somewhere that’s adequate space and in a reasonable distance away from where resources are,” he said.
Severe thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday hampered efforts to get people to move their belongings to the new encampment site.
The city has provided portable toilets and Dumpsters for the camp. The Wheeling Police Department and the Wheeling Fire Department will also provide services, but Phillips said that’s not enough. He said this is just a temporary fix to solving the homeless problem.
“The city has not seemed particularly eager in facilitating conversations about what longer term solutions might look like,” he said. “There needs to be a recognition that you can’t just move somebody from living in a tent, living outside into a job or stable housing without in between steps.”
Phillips said due to the remote location of the new site, Catholic Charities will not be bringing food or other resources to the site. He said those services will still be available at their Neighborhood Center.
“We’re providing meals six days a week on site there as well as things like showers and laundry,” he said.
Phillips said there needs to be a year-round shelter with resources to help people get back on their feet. He said the homeless problem goes far beyond housing.
“It’s a long road for people. We’ve got folks that have a long history of mental illness and addiction. Trying to cure that overnight and just put them into a new situation isn’t really possible,” he said.
Catholic Charities and its community partners say they plan to provide large vans to help move homeless individuals’ belongings to the new site.
