MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The city of Wheeling, like many other West Virginia communities, is working through issues related to increased homelessness and drug addiction.
In Wheeling, when a ban on public camping was passed, city councilors added a provision that gave the city manager authority to establish an exempted area within the city that could be used for camping.
On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Second Ward Councilor from the city of Wheeling, Ben Seidler, said post-pandemic efforts have been made to consolidate several camps into one area. After negotiations, lawsuits, and protests, an exempted area was established and run or staffed by local agencies.
“We had to clean up the camps; we had to get them into one place,” Seidler said. “I personally negotiated with a lot of providers to tell them this isn’t working, but one thing we can do is create a centralized location where you can consolidate your resources and help these folks break the cycle of homelessness.”
As the camp operated, it appeared as if the people inside were not getting the assistance they needed. People now had a place to go, but the services they needed to make positive changes in their lives were not consistently available.
“What we’re not seeing are the providers bringing in trained professionals who are trained on mental health and drug addiction,” Seidler said. “They are certainly volunteers with great hearts that are doing it, but it’s not productive.”
Catholic Charities West Virginia is the organization expected to take over operations at the triage shelter in Morgantown and in Wheeling. Seidler said the organization brought staff and expertise to help.
“Outside of Catholic Charities, a lot of these other providers are activists with a lack of character and integrity who repeatedly speak false and half-truths to create a never-ending victim mentality and paint a completely false narrative about what’s going on here.”
The exempted area concept will only work for all sides if there are adequate expectations for treatment and accountability. With a homeless and addicted population, it must be a 24-hour-a-day job with social workers and councilors, all with the same goal of helping them find a better life.
“This concept only works if there is accountability from the partners involved,” Seidler said. “That means people on the ground there every single day looking and speaking and having a relationship with folks and convincing them that this isn’t the life; you’re worth more than this.”
When all sides work together, all sides have to understand the different challenges faced by all sides objectively. Making excuses for the behavior and ignoring the quality of life issues deepens the divide in the community and moves those who need it further away from treatment.
“A lot of these folks refuse to acknowledge the other side of the issues associated with this, like cleaning up this stuff,” Seidler said. “The needles, the attacks on the personal enjoyment of a person’s property within the city—we have to balance this out, and it’s a real struggle.”