MORGANTOWN, W.Va. A deal has been reached, and a weather-dependent shelter with residency requirements will operate in Monongalia County this year. The Monongalia County Commission, City of Morgantown, Morgantown Community Resources, the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties, and Bartlett Housing Solutions are all supporting the effort.
The facility will be managed by Bartlett Housing Solutions, and Executive Director Keri DeMasi said it will operate in the former location of the Hope Hill Sobering Center in Hazel’s House of Hope when temperatures drop to 39 degrees or below. On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” DeMasi said that because of the temperature limitations, communication with clients and agencies will be important for success.
“We want to get the information out to folks to let them know at least 24-hours in advance that we’re going to be open and operating,” DeMasi said. “And also sharing with all the stakeholders and community partners to make sure they’re spreading the word as well.”
Recently, Bartlett Housing Solutions added 12 beds to their emergency triage shelter, raising the total capacity to 40. Demasi said the proposed weather-dependent shelter will only open when temperature requirements are satisfied and all 40 beds are full.
“We’re being a good steward of funding and support for this program to ensure we’re not running two different floors of two different programs,” DeMasi said. “We want to make sure we’re connecting people with the resources they need.”
The residency requirement will limit occupants to people in need who have resided in Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor Counties for at least 30 days prior to the opening date of November 17, 2023. The requirement allows the multiple agencies at Hazel’s House of Hope to focus on helping pull local residents up.
“We have already seen a pretty significant increase in calls from other areas of the state and other states attempting to discharge folks to our shelter, and we’re simply telling them we’re not able to do that because of the residency requirements,” Demasi said.
DeMasi said the facility has yet to operate at capacity this year due to the addition of the 12 additional beds. The last point-in-time count conducted totaled the homeless population at 122 in the Monongalia County area.
“We’ve been very fortunate; we have not been at capacity; we would have been at capacity had we not added the 12 additional beds,” DeMasi said. “Every night, even the very cold nights earlier this week, we’ve had two to three beds that were still open.”
Hazel’s House of Hope and Bartlett Housing Solutions are dedicated to meeting these emergency needs and will attempt to maximize that time with those who need shelter. People in the shelter will have access to the many services offered on Scott Avenue to address addiction treatment, food insecurity, and homelessness.
“Be proactive and really strive to connect people with resources and supportive services so hopefully they won’t need a warming shelter next year—that’s the ultimate goal,” Demasi said.
This year, clients will be asked to sign a Client Expectations agreement regarding rules while in the shelter. Clients will be subject to search while at the shelter and repeated violations of the Client Expectations agreement could result in being asked to leave the shelter. Additionally, DeMasi said private security will patrol in and around the Hazel’s House of Hope area.