New Low Barrier Homeless Shelter Opens In Huntington 

Unique in West Virginia, a so-called “low barrier” homeless shelter will open its doors in Huntington this weekend. The facility management hopes to offer a better gateway to needed recovery help.  

Housed in a refurbished city public works building, the Huntington Homeless Services Hub (The Hub) will offer overnight shelter for homeless men. This place is different from other homeless shelters in that the men aren’t required to be sober or commit to treatment.  

The City of Huntington and Valley Health Systems lead a Hub operation partnership that includes the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, Prestera Health Services, Harmony House and the Marshall Health Network.

Valley Health Behavioral Health Director Kelly Whitley provides operation oversight to The Hub. She said services beyond a bed, food and a shower will be added in phases, creating a bridge to recovery.

“The mission of The Hub is to provide a safe, overnight shelter option for those experiencing unsheltered homelessness,” Whitley said. “The concept of The Hub is to be a starting point, a stepping stone. We’re talking about rehousing services and general case management. We’ll also have medical services and behavioral health services on site. We will coordinate all of those resources under one roof, so we have the best chance of possibly setting up those individuals for success.” 

Whitley said client intake will involve some triage and assessment. 

“Triage will look like collecting some basic information from that individual, just basic demographic information, and then a little bit of information just about their current homeless status,” she said. “We’ll also be asking them if they have an interest in pursuing any other services, like recovery services, for example, or behavioral health. And then we’ll sort of go from there and get that coordinated and make sure that we are best meeting their needs. For example, if they show up and they would also be better served by, for example, Branches as a domestic violence shelter, then we may coordinate that to make sure that they are best served.”

Whitley said as phases are implemented, Hub operation partners will provide certain practical services to help clients be more successful, including potentially assisting with transportation. She said the Huntington City Mission is collaborating to provide meals for The Hub. 

“We’re still in the process of establishing a concrete timeline for our phases,” Whitley said. “I imagine after the first of the year, we’ll begin some of the construction that will be required at the Hub site to make that possible. Ideally, we would transition some day services over to The Hub and extend some of the hours, and we’ll need to renovate some additional space for behavioral health and medical services to be on site, as well as some offices that will be needed for those services.” 

Whitley said Valley Health has hired and will be managing all of the staff. She said they are well versed in dealing with the possible challenges of a low barrier shelter

“We have eight staff members, and that includes our shelter manager, our assistant manager, and then we have some part time and full time staff,” she said. “Our staff has a variety of experiences in homeless services, behavioral health services, and several have lived the experience and are in recovery.”

The City of Huntington provided the initial funds to renovate The Hub building, also providing that building and property. Whitley said those funds were opioid settlement funds that the city allocated towards this initiative. She said there is a $30,000 monthly operating allotment that the city is  providing to help with the cost of staffing and day-to-day operating expenses. However, Whitley said there is concern about long term financial sustainability. In that regard, The Hub is reaching out for community involvement and donations. 

“We do have an Amazon wish list available,” Whitley said. “As well as a link where someone can make a monetary donation. We also have a picnic table campaign going on right now to raise funds to purchase picnic tables for the area behind The Hub.”

Huntington Mayor Patrick Farrell says The Hub fulfills the city’s commitment to move overnight shelter services out of the downtown business district and to build a more coordinated system of care.