MORGANTOWN, W, Va. — The effort to reopen the triage shelter in Morgantown is moving forward on several fronts and appears to be gaining traction.
On WAJRS ‘Talk of the Town,” Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom said he had just learned that $167,500 that was pulled from Bartlett Housing Solutions earlier this year could be redirected to Catholic Charities West Virginia. Oliverios has been in talks with the governor’s office about reinstating the funding, and when Catholic Charities came on board, a tentative decision was made to allocate the money for the Morgantown triage shelter.
“I’m really proud of the effort in our community with Nick DiMedici (Bartlett Housing Solutions Board President), Morgantown City Council, the Bartlett Housing Solutions Board, the Monongalia County Commission, and others all pulling together to address this,” Senator Oliverio said.
Catholic Charities has been in talks with local providers and local leaders since financial problems surfaced at the Bartlett House around the first of May. Commissioner Tom Bloom said the organization has committed to immediately beginning the grant application process to operate the shelter. If approved, it could set a timetable for the city and county to begin reducing their support as more grant dollars flow in.
“This will have the city and county not pay as much; weaning us off is the best way to say it,” Bloom said. “We would still have the facility, and they’ve managed these in other areas like wheelchairs.”
The news that the money could be released is big for the community, which desperately needs approximately 20 triage shelter beds. Since the shelter closed, local advocates have had to look to other areas in the state for people, and this news could quickly end that.
“This is fantastic,” Bloom said. “This is really positive news for everyone in this community, and I can’t thank Mike Oliverio enough; he really went out on a limb for us.”
Oiliverio said the addition of Catholic Charities doesn’t complete the transaction, but the operational experience and credibility from operations in other areas of the state do make a difference in the decision.
“The fact that they would be coming in to administer this program, I believe, gives a lot of comfort to the folks in state government to release the dollars,” Oliverio said.
The last several weeks without the shelter have highlighted its importance and need in the community. The shelter is an important entry point for those in need to learn about the 24 organizations in the city that offer different forms of support.
“But we need to get a place open and provide services up at HHH (Hazel’s House of Hope),” Bloom said. “So we can do up there what we’ve always wanted: get people the help they need.”
Bloom is confident Catholic Charities will effectively run the shelter operation. The organization has statewide recognition to manage not only the operations but also the also the fiscal part of the shelter, making them a good fit in our time of need.
“This is with a group that is already established; doing that makes it much easier to meet those guidelines and to get future grants,” Bloom said.