MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Bartlett Housing Solutions now has a timeline for the transfer of clients ahead of the planned June 30 closure of the emergency triage shelter at Hazel’s House of Hope on Scott Avenue.
Plans to transfer 28 people currently housed in the shelter were released on Monday, days after the decision to close the shelter was announced on Friday. According to Bartlett Housing Solutions, no new clients will be accepted starting on March 15, and the transfer process of clients to other shelters or alternative housing will begin this week.
In the plan of action released by the organization, the 28 clients housed at Hazel’s House of Hope will be prioritized for openings at Bartlett Housing Solutions’ Scott’s Run location, as well as community-based rapid re-housing rentals. The 18 people who are housed in apartment units on the upper floors above Hazel’s House of Hope shelter space will not be displaced and will be allowed to continue renting the units.
Any clients that are present at the emergency triage shelter after March 15 will be assisted by staff to find temporary housing options and be referred to other community organizations if applicable. Any changes in staffing could lead to a re-evaluation of the closure date and operational schedule.
Staff members currently employed at the shelter will be given career enhancement class opportunities and resume development as part of alternative employment efforts.
“Bartlett Housing Solutions wants to acknowledge and extend our sincere gratitude to the countless advocates and supporters who have stood by us through these heartbreaking and difficult times and trusted us and our mission,” they said in the press release. “The level of support we have received both in communication and financially has not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated.”