MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Warm Up Wednesday (Feb. 5) will be held in downtown Morgantown to help raise money for the Monongalia County Warming Shelter operated by Catholic Charities West Virginia. The night of music, comedy, food, and drinks runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Co-Op at 131 Pleasant Street.
On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Fifth Ward Morgantown Councilor and board member for Morgantown Community Resources Danielle Trumble said during the coldest temperatures in many years, the shelter has been at capacity on a couple of occasions, but other organizations stepped up to fill the need.
“They served 85 different individuals in the month of January with an average of 20 to 22 per night,” Trumble said. “There were a couple of nights they were completely full, and we worked with Councilor Butcher and some of his volunteer groups to get people into hotel rooms as needed.”
This is the first year Catholic Charities—West Virginia has operated the shelter, which is similar to other operations they have around the state. In previous years, the shelter had been operated on a temporary basis, making it difficult to staff and have predictable day-to-day operations.
“They have staffing there all night, and they put people into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS),” Trumble said. “Things really seem to be going smoothly right now.”
President of Main Street Morgantown, Mark Downs, said issues with the homeless have been very polarizing, specifically for the downtown community. Coming out for a fun night while providing support for the shelter and homeless community focuses those who can help on the solution, not all of the aspects of the issue that pull people apart.
“The community can come together and solve so many problems if we put our differences aside and stay focused on the objective, and this is an opportunity for us to start demonstrating that,” Downs said.
Trumble and Delegate Evan Hansen, D, Monongalia, 79, will serve as celebrity bartenders and have been working on some custom drinks for the event. Draft beer will be offered from the Chestnut Brew Works, Gene’s Beer Garden, and Short Story Brewing, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to benefit the shelter.
“If anyone wishes to have a more standard drink, we have Pastor Zac Morton of the First Presbyterian Church downtown, who is also going to join us, and I’m told he has actual bartending experience,” Trumble said.
Food for the event will be provided by Zeke’s Breakfast and Bakes, The Iron Horse Tavern, 123 Pleasant Street, Danielle Bakes Cakes, and the Apothecary Ale House and Cafe. Bill Hutchens, Andy Tuck, Grace Campbell, and Kevin Hamrick will provide music. Lish Brownfield, Lawton Parnel, and Cody Cannon will provide comic relief.
“This is an opportunity to engage with the folks from the advocacy side and engage with the folks from the business side and come together to try to make things a little better,” Downs said.