MORGANTOWN, W.Va. While multiple agencies and the city of Morgantown wrestle with the ongoing homelessness and drug issues in downtown, some property managers are expressing frustration. Red Brick Properties manages multiple properties in the downtown Morgantown area, and the partners of the organization came to WAJR’s “Talk of the Town” to call for action.
Partner Mike Dicenso said he works with the city police, code enforcement, and other city departments on a daily basis. His frustration comes from multiple reports of incidents passed on to city officials and leaders with requests for action that have largely gone unanswered, according to Dicenso.
“I love working with those people; they’re good people, and they care,” Dicenso said. “I think there’s a lot of indecisiveness going on right now over there, and I think there’s an imbalance between compassion and what’s right.”
Partner Dave Flores believes harm reduction (needle exchange) and Milan Puskar Health Right and Downtown are not compatible. Flores said drug addicts sharing the same sidewalks with WVU students and young adults is not safe and sends the wrong signal.
The city and Monongalia County Commission are helping to finance the move of Milan Puskar Health Right to Scott Avenue near Hazel’s House of Hope. The move was to be completed by Friday, March 31, but cost overruns have put that plan on hold.
“We don’t want to incentivize illegal activity; that’s the point; we’re all about cooperation,” Flores said. “I think one of the great ideas for Milan Puskar Health Right is to put a Boys and Girls Club down there.”
Flores said they have seen homeless people from outside Morgantown assimilate into the local population to receive services. In fact, he said they know people from as far away as California who are now on the streets of Morgantown. Flores contends there are many local people in need who should have access to those services but apparently don’t.
“It’s actually turned into a situation where people are taking advantage of the Morgantown government and the Morgantown system,” Flores said. “Instead of people that are locals using these services for the greater good and the positivity toward Morgantown, it’s causing harm.”
Morgantown Resources Applied for Mutual Progress (RAMP) representative Brian Butcher explained needle exchange programs are proven to help drug addicts stay close to services. Keeping in contact with addicts and constantly encouraging them to seek treatment is part of the recovery process.
“I don’t think anyone would ever claim to be trying to incentivize drug dealing, that’s for sure, and I don’t think Health Right is incentivizing people to use drugs,” Butcher said. “They’re just trying to make sure that if people are on that road to recovery, they’re doing it safely.”
Flores said city officials have miscategorized the problem as a homelessness issue when he said the drugs are downtown and that’s what the addicts want. If the policy was to keep drugs and drug dealers out of downtown, he believes there would be fewer instances of vagrancy, violence, open drug use, used needles, and trash.
“We’re here today to state we need to stop talking about a homeless problem—we need to start talking about the drug problems downtown,” Flores said. “Because the addicts are increasing, there are drug dealers downtown, and we’re seeing new faces.”
Flores explained that he is voicing his opinion loudly because he has experienced a similar situation where he grew up. When action isn’t taken to discourage bad behavior, it will spread and ultimately take over, according to Flores.
“We’re from New Jersey originally, where there are towns where the main commodity is drugs,” Flores said. “We’ve seen what happens to those areas, they become very dangerous, people get shot, no one wants to go there, and the economy goes to absolutely nothing.”
Butcher said downtown foot patrols have returned, surveillance cameras are in use, and elected leaders are listening to the concerns of residents and business owners, but it takes time to get to a solution.
“Now I understand people have immediate concerns about safety, and I don’t want to discount anybody’s concern about safety,” Butcher said. “We want to make sure our downtown is a safe place to be, and I think we’re getting there.”