agencies to meet Wednesday to discuss homeless situation in Wheeling

WHEELING — Parties involved on all sides of the homeless issue in Wheeling will meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss possible next steps.

The invitation-only meeting will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Wheeling and will be facilitated by the Ohio Valley Community Foundation, Ohio County Family Resource Network, Catholic Charities of West Virginia and Helping Heroes. CFOV Executive Director Susie Nelson said she was approached earlier this year by OCFRN Executive Director Claudia Raymer to help organize the meeting, with help from the president -Catholic Charities CEO Mark Phillips and Helping Heroes CEO RJ Konkoleski.

The meeting will bring together Wheeling city officials and homeless service providers, including House of Hagar, the Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless, the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, the Salvation Army and others.

The meeting is by invitation only, Nelson said, to allow participants to speak freely.

“We want to see who is doing what and when,” Nelson said. “What I don’t think we want to see happen is for an organization to be perhaps overworked. We have a lot of organizations in town. How can we make the most of the services already offered in a meaningful way?

Much of the discussion, Nelson said, will focus on the exempt area along Wheeling Creek, which is currently used as a homeless camp.

In January, a city ordinance went into effect banning camping on public property within city limits, leading to the closure of several homeless encampments around Wheeling.

The ordinance authorizes the creation of a managed camp, which can sit on exempt public land designated by the city manager. The first exempt site was across the street from the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center. This site was later moved to its current space along Wheeling Creek.

Concerns have been raised about the location of the site, as it is further away than previous camps from many services that Wheeling’s homeless population uses regularly. There is also concern that homeless people with mobility problems will have difficulty getting to and from city center services.

Part of the discussion, Nelson said, could be about moving closer to a properly run camp in the city. The current site is exempt land, but no group manages it.

“It’s the role of a community foundation to be an organizer,” Nelson said. “And that’s kind of the role we’re filling here, bringing these groups together with the end goal of making things better when we’re done.”

Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said he won’t be able to attend the meeting himself, but there will be ample representation from city government. Nelson said Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger and Wheeling Fire Chief James Blazier were also invited, as was the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department.

Herron said it’s a good time for all parties to come together to move things forward and find ways to help Wheeling’s homeless population.

“Obviously we spent some time with the exempt area,” Herron said. “There has been some time to assess how things are going. I think there would be potential for permanence there (at the exempt site). This is not a guarantee. This is a great opportunity for the people who have contributed to this site to come together and discuss next steps, if any. And I believe there are, but it will be up to them to decide.

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