MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The new year will likely see increased activity at the social service hub on Scott Avenue in Morgantown.
Catholic Charities West Virginia continues to establish their triage and warming shelter operations; Milan Puskar Health Right is expected to relocate their downtown Morgantown operation to the area, and the remaining partners continue to grow.
On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Commissioner Tom Bloom said the groups are working hard to address the needs of the less fortunate, and he believes progress is being made. Going forward, Bloom wants to develop programs and agencies that have, or are building a track record of accomplishments in helping the homeless and those dealing with substance abuse disorder.
“I believe we’re moving forward, but it’s slow,” Bloom said. “I believe the opioid crisis and the mental health crisis are huge, and what I’m looking for and I think the commissioners are looking for are small wins first.”
Morgantown Community Resources manages the Scott Avenue property that is home to the Aspire Services Center, United Way of Mon and Preston Counties, Lauren’s Wish, Catholic Charities, and the Salvation Army. The facility was created as a social service hub to prevent those in need from having to travel from agency to agency.
“The groups that are up there are working hard,” Arnett said. “Aspire, Lauren’s Wish, Grace Shelter, and the Salvation Army—they’re working and doing the best they can.”
The collapse of the Bartlett House was a unifying event of 2024. The city and county had to act quickly to fund the salaries of the workers while an alternate plan was developed. Those arrangements provided enough time to get Catholic Charities West Virginia vetted and on board to run Bartlett House operations.
“That took a couple funding rounds and for us to agree to help out,” Sikora said. “And I think it showed the city we’re willing to be a partner.”
In July of 2024, commissioners reviewed 18 grant requests that totaled $1.9 million for an available pool of $626,000 in available funds. After more than 30 hours of review, 13 organizations received a portion of that funding.
“We spent a ton of time going through these to make sure these dollars would be best used for what the intended purpose was,” Arnett said. “Which is to help stem the opioid epidemic.”
Commissioners have always maintained their mission is to support the social services. Giving the experts resources to deal with the issues in the community and evaluating the results in an effort to continuously improve has been their focus.
“We’re right where we should be,” Sikora said. “In the room trying to bring people together for one stated purpose.”