On this West Virginia Morning, the federal government says this year’s count of homeless people shows 40 percent are living on the streets, unsheltered. That’s the highest percentage ever. Many cities are struggling to provide support. In Charleston, West Virginia outdoor encampments have been a focus at the state legislature as debate continues over how to respond.
On this West Virginia Morning, the federal government says this year’s count of homeless people shows 40 percent are living on the streets, unsheltered. That’s the highest percentage ever. Many cities are struggling to provide support. In Charleston, West Virginia outdoor encampments have been a focus at the state legislature as debate continues over how to respond.
In our latest episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay talks with the director of policy for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Barbara DiPietro says our current approach to homelessness only exacerbates underlying issues. Here’s an excerpt from our next podcast.
Also, in this show, at the start of the West Virginia Legislative session, the state had to come to grips with several concerning reports showing declines in math and reading scores for public school students. Now, at the end of the legislative session, reporter Chris Schulz looks into what has been done so far to improve student outcomes. He spoke with the House Education Chairman Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
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Homelessness is not just an issue for big cities like San Francisco or New York City. Across America, communities large and small are struggling to provide shelter to people without housing. In Charleston, West Virginia, government and community approaches to help the unhoused have created more debate on an issue that is already divisive.
Homelessness has been on the rise since 2016, and the pandemic only exacerbated an acute shortage of resources to help people living on the streets. Now, many communities are struggling to provide support as some homeless people turn away from emergency shelters and remain in outdoor encampments.
In Charleston, West Virginia, the city’s opioid response program also now focuses on homelessness. “Tent cities” have been a focus at the state legislature as debate continues over how best to help people living on the street.
At the same time, some people say they’re more afraid of people living on the street than in the past. Providing sustained care for homeless people continues to elude and divide even well-meaning and determined communities.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.
Us & Them host Trey Kay met Randy Lantz while Lantz sheltered on the steps of First Presbyterian Church in Charleston on a cold night in January 2023. Lantz said he’s been homeless since 2016. He said he’s from Atlanta, Georgia and has been in prison three times. Lantz said he found his way “back into the world” after his first two prison terms. But this time, he said, he cannot.
Credit: Julie BlackwoodRev. William Myers became First Presbyterian Church’s new head minister in August 2021. It wasn’t long before he became aware of the church’s transient guests who slept on the building’s front steps. Rev. Myers allowed them to camp there overnight. But he wanted to set limits, knowing children in the church’s preschool program used that entrance every morning and afternoon.
He established some ground rules for those sheltering on the steps. But this did not resolve the concerns of community members in and outside First Presby. In his first days in Charleston, Rev. Myers was quickly immersed in the debate over how best to help people living on the street.
Credit Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
(Click here to view Rev. Myer’s sermon about caring for homeless people.)
Ashley Switzer was born and raised in Charleston. She is a school teacher. Ashley and her husband have raised five children in West Virginia’s capitol city. Her grandson attends a preschool that’s located near First Presbyterian Church and St. John’s Episcopal Church, which houses Manna Meal, a soup kitchen that’s been serving meals to homeless people for more than four decades.
“There was a group of parents from this school right here who actually called for a meeting with the mayor of our town because of instances with homeless or criminal vagrants on school property, near school property, banging on parents’ car doors, children in the back screaming,” she said, standing outside the preschool playground where her grandson plays. “There have been children playing on this actual playground where homeless people will threaten them. My grandson has witnessed someone walking down this very sidewalk with no pants.”
Credit: Ashley Switzer Barbara DiPietro is the senior director of policy for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. She oversees the group’s federal advocacy and policy analysis. “It’s not compassion in our public policies when we consistently choose not to fund housing, not to raise wages, to allow people to not get health care,” DiPietro said. “Homelessness isn’t an accident. These are conscious public policy choices.”
Credit: National Institute for Medical Respite CareTaryn Wherry is director of the City of Charleston’s CARE program, or Coordinated Addiction Response Effort. The CARE program began under Charleston’s current mayor, Amy Goodwin.
“We take a very hands-on, boots on the ground approach every day,” Wherry said. “We’re in the streets, we’re on the [river] banks or in abandoned properties. We’re talking to people and meeting them where they’re at.”
Wherry said CARE staff know firsthand what it is like to be out on the streets, struggling with drug or alcohol addiction.
“We have individuals who have lived and learned experience in all fields, people who are in long-term recovery who have been in active addiction,” she said.
Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
(Click here to hear Mayor Goodwin on meeting the needs of Charleston’s homeless population.)
(Click here to view former Charleston Mayor Danny Jones announcing his order to dismantle a homeless encampment known as “Tent City.”)
Sommer Short is a peer support worker with Covenant House, which is one of the nonprofit service organizations that works with Charleston’s CARE team. When Sommer was 21, she was injured in a car accident and was prescribed opioids. Over the next five years, she transitioned to heroin use. She said she eventually left home and became homeless.
Short is sober now and works to help unhoused people who are living the way she used to live. She said many of the homeless people she meets are living with substance use disorder. She said they feel like “her people.”
“Though I may be in a position where I’m three years sober today, I am comfortable going out there and trying to help someone the same way that someone helped me,” she said.
Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting One way Short tries to help is by offering food and “hygiene bags” to homeless people camping in and around Charleston. She keeps the supplies in the trunk of her car.
“In the bag, we have a Ziploc bag, which contains the toilet paper and their socks and some ointment. Then, we have some baby wipes. And inside, we also have a bottle of water, a hairbrush, a comb, a little travel pack for their toothpaste and a brush, a razor, shaving cream,” she said. Short also has food gift cards and Narcan nasal spray, which can be used to reverse a drug overdose.
Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting As Short walked toward a homeless encampment, she passed under a highway overpass. Someone had written “HOPE” in yellow spray paint on the concrete wall.
“Hold On Pain Ends,” Short said, describing what the word meant to her. “You always gotta have hope. Pain ends eventually. But you got to work for it as well.”
Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
The funding is planned to help upgrade and modernize 30 public housing projects statewide, with each grant for each housing authority adding up to $17.6 million in total funding.
Federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development is going to support public housing in the state.
The funding is planned to help upgrade and modernize 30 public housing projects statewide, with each grant for each housing authority adding up to $17.6 million in total funding. It comes from the agency’s Public Housing Capital Fund Formula Grant Program.
“Ensuring West Virginians have a roof over their head and a warm place to sleep at night continues to be one of my top priorities. Thousands of West Virginians and millions of Americans are currently experiencing homelessness, and we must work together to combat this devastating issue,” Sen. Joe Manchin said in a joint statement with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito announcing the funding.
Approximately 1,238 people in the state experienced homelessness in 2022, according to an HUD report.
Some of the largest awarded grants include more than $3 million dollars to the Charleston/Kanawha Housing Authority, more than $2 million to the Housing Authority of Huntington and $1.5 million to the Housing Authority of the City of Wheeling.
The full list includes:
$3,203,383 to the Charleston/Kanawha Housing Authority
$2,080,718 to the Housing Authority of the City of Huntington
$1,548,515 to the Housing Authority of the City of Wheeling
$917,453 to the Clarksburg/Harrison Housing Authority
$834,218 to the Housing Authority of the City of Martinsburg
$730,277 to the Housing Authority of the City of Williamson
$677,898 to the Housing Authority of the City of Beckley
$655,307 to the Housing Authority of the City of Moundsville
$587,038 to the Housing Authority of the City of Grafton
$484,533 to the Housing Authority of the City of Bluefield
$473,645 to the Housing Authority of the City of Parkersburg
$472,182 to the Housing Authority of the County of Jackson
$465,911 to the Housing Authority of Benwood and McMechen
$424,165 to the Fairmont/Morgantown Housing Authority
$419,561 to the Housing Authority of the City of Mount Hope
$410,445 to the Housing Authority of the City of Pt. Pleasant
$327,518 to the Housing Authority of the City of Spencer
$320,434 to the Housing Authority of the City of South Charleston
$297,897 to the Housing Authority of the City of Dunbar
$275,860 to the Housing Authority of the City of Weirton
$254,458 to the Housing Authority of the City of Piedmont
$244,592 to the Housing Authority of the City of Keyser
$238,128 to the Housing Authority of the City of St. Albans
$233,710 to the Housing Authority of the City of Buckhannon
$232,844 to the Housing Authority of Boone County
$206,771 to the Housing Authority of the City of Elkins
$190,858 to the Housing Authority of the City of Romney
$154,426 to the Housing Authority of Raleigh County
$138,668 to the Housing Authority of Mingo County
$132,187 to the Housing Authority of the City of Weston
The HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program Funding Assignment for Homeownership Fees Program, awarded to the Charleston/Kanawha Housing Authority, would also see $200 per household awarded to cover homeownership closing fees for families switching from renting.
On Alzheimer’s Awareness Day at the West Virginia Legislature, the organization’s program director Terresa Morris said that more than half of those with the brain disorder affecting memory and behavior will – at one time or another – wander.
About 40,000 West Virginians live with some degree of Alzheimer’s dementia, according to the West Virginia chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. There has been concern that recent legislation focused on law enforcement interacting with those suffering with Alzheimer’s did not go far enough.
On Alzheimer’s Awareness Day at the West Virginia Legislature, the organization’s program director Terresa Morris said that more than half of those with the brain disorder affecting memory and behavior will – at one time or another – wander.
Senate Bill 570 was signed into law in 2022. The measure required all new law enforcement and correction officers to undergo specialized training in how to identify and communicate with those living with dementia. Morris said that training proved as an eye opener for new recruits.
“When we talk about stories of people in the past that have had situations like this, I think it’s something that our new officers don’t always think about,” Morris said. “They just know that’s not what they’re taught, per se, so currently, we’re doing that through training at the State Academy for all the new officers.”
That law made Alzheimer’s awareness training voluntary for law enforcement and correction officers already on the force. However, few veterans stepped up to take the training.
Currently proposed Senate Bill 208 mandates that all law enforcement officers, new and old, take Alzheimer’s awareness training.
Morris said with stories of first responder confusion over intoxication vs. dementia still coming to light, across the board training becomes a community help as well.
“This is something fairly new,” Morris said. “We’re just at the point where we have increased awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s and someone that maybe has been in the force five, 10, 20 years – they need this training, they need to know what they could potentially be dealt with or what they could be working with.”
The training also includes understanding the risks associated with Alzheimer’s, including elder abuse and exploitation.
With Alzheimer’s activists in attendance, the Senate suspended rules Thursday and passed Senate Bill 526, which would incorporate early detection, diagnosis and education efforts regarding dementia on its public health platforms. That bill now goes to the House of Delegates for consideration.
SB 239 would have behavioral health providers, treatment specialists, statewide government leaders and community stakeholders assess a breakdown of homeless demographics.
A bill continues to advance that mandates a statewide homeless survey, intended to see if West Virginia’s health and human services facilities are being overtapped.
Senate Bill 239 would have behavioral health providers, treatment specialists, statewide government leaders and community stakeholders assess a breakdown of homeless demographics.
On Tuesday, the House Committee on the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse passed the bill and sent it on to the House Health Committee.
The study would determine where homelessness is most concentrated around the state, if policies cause homeless relocation to certain areas and who is coming in from other states using West Virginia services.
Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, believes the survey will assess public health root causes.
“A lot of it has to do with mental illness and substance use disorder, and I would be willing to bet that it’s not the services that are provided,” Puskin said.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, has said that better understanding the state’s unhoused population is important to ensure the best use of the state’s resources.
“The study is basically just to know where the homeless folks are in West Virginia, why they are migrating from one part of the state to the other and how many of these homeless people are from out of state,” Azinger said. “We’re getting tons of out-of-state people that come to West Virginia, to the drug rehab places, because we have a lot of beds in one county: Cabell, but also, because we have benefits. We give away all kinds of freebies, and the word gets out on the street, cross-country, ‘Hey go to West Virginia.’ And that’s what’s happening. We want to truncate that, staunch the bleeding, put a stop to it, and make it reasonable. We’re not kicking anybody out of beds, we don’t want to do that, we want people that want help to get help.”
The homeless survey is due to be completed by July 1, 2024.
It was a busy day for the Senate as they passed a dozen bills, ranging from issues of schools to healthcare and substance use.
It was a busy day for the Senate as they passed a dozen bills, ranging from issues of schools to health care and substance use.
First up was Senate Bill 51, which would require an impact statement in certain instances of a school closing or consolidation. School closure and consolidation have been pervasive in the state as the population continues to decline. According to the 2020 Census, West Virginia lost 3.2 percent of its population since 2010.
Senate Bill 258, which would eliminate a $10,000 cap on rent-to-own agreements in the state, was the only bill that did not pass unanimously.
“Currently in the law, it says that there cannot be a rent-to-own contract related to consumer goods which has a cash value, fair market value of more than $10,000. This bill, if it passes, will remove that cap completely,” said Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan. “Consumers and rent to own businesses will be free to enter into whatever contract they like regardless of the amount of value consumer goods which is the subject of the contract.”
Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, both voted against the bill but did not provide comment on the floor.
Senate Bill 282 creates the West Virginia Guardian Program. The program would allow county boards of education to contract with honorably discharged law enforcement officers to provide public safety and/or security on public school grounds and buildings.
With all the federal money coming into the state, Senate Bill 439 aims to help one state department complete its projects more easily.
“This is a pretty uncomplicated, easy bill. All it does is streamline the process for the DEP to bid and award contracts.” said Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker. “With all the federal money coming in, they’re afraid they’re not gonna get all the bids out for mine reclamation and some other projects. The Department of Highways is already doing this and it’s working well for them.”
The Senate also passed:
Senate Bill 248, clarifying when excess funds accumulated by boards are to be transferred to General Revenue Fund
Senate Bill 270, adding exemption to permit requirement for cremation for research for institution arranging the final disposition of a decedent who donated his or her body to science
Senate Bill 271, modifying approval process requirements for First Responders Honor Board
Senate Bill 283, updating the language of the Military Incentive Program, which provides a tax credit to employers in the state for hiring certain members of a class of veterans, to include all veterans
Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, addresses the Senate on Monday Jan. 30, 2023. Credit Will Price/WV Legislative Photography
One Senator, Four Bills
One-third of the bills in front of the Senate on third reading Monday were sponsored by Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood. He said the bill’s aim was to address a chronic issue in the state.
“Three of the four bills that were on third reading today, deal with the homeless/drug crisis that is especially affecting two or three counties, that being Wood County, Cabell County, maybe you can say Kanawha County, maybe one or two others,” Azinger said.
“In Wood County we have four percent of the population and 25 percent of the beds, and we could potentially have double that if Ohio Valley College is purchased by these folks that have these drug rehab places. These bills are trying to constrict. The issues that we have in Wood County with homeless camps, with crime, as you can imagine, break ins and burglary, it’s just off the charts.”
Senate Bill 239 would require the Commissioner of the Bureau for Behavioral Health to engage community stakeholders in a study of homeless demographic information throughout West Virginia, due by July 1, 2024. Azinger said better understanding the state’s unhoused population is important to ensure the best use of the state’s resources.
“The study is basically just to know where the homeless folks are in West Virginia, why they are migrating from one part of the state to the other and how many of these homeless people are from out of state,” he said.
“We’re getting tons of out-of-state people that come to West Virginia, to the drug rehab places, because we have a lot of beds in one county, Cabell, but also, because we have benefits. We give away, you know, all kinds of freebies, and the word gets out on the street, cross-country, ‘Hey go to West Virginia.’ And that’s what’s happening. We want to truncate that, staunch the bleeding, put a stop to it, and make it reasonable. We’re not kicking anybody out of beds, we don’t want to do that, we want people that want help to get help.”
Senate Bill 243 would require the institutions giving people that help with substance use issues to also provide transportation after treatment has ended. The mandate for transportation is broad-reaching, as the bill requires, “a means of transportation back to the individual’s state of birth, a state in which they have previously lived, or a state where they have a family support structure” be provided. Azinger said there is no funding for the requirement by design.
“Just send these folks back to where they have family, to a state that they’re from, or someplace where they have connections and relationships and a history there,” he said. “We’re just making the drug rehab places have some skin in the game. Let them pay the price back for the bus ticket. Parkersburg paid $24,000 in bus tickets last year. So that’s $24,000 that, in my opinion, the City of Parkersburg shouldn’t have to pay.”
He also stated that the requirement serves two purposes: getting those individuals fresh out of substance use treatment back to their support system, and out of West Virginia.
Azinger also sponsored Senate Bill 241, which shifts the responsibility of investigating and enforcing of, the Patient Brokering Act, as well as Senate Bill 251, which requires the display of the official U.S. motto, “In God We Trust” in all state schools.
“Our country was built on God,” Azinger said. “Our America was birthed by the Great Awakening, religious revivals in the early 1700s was the impetus, was a birthright of the American Revolution. That’s always how we have operated. So why did we take it out? What’s happened since we’ve taken it out? Well, a lot of bad things have happened since we’ve taken it out, so let’s start bringing God back into the schools.”
Completed Legislative Action
Two more bills passed through the legislative process and are now on their way to Gov. Jim Justice for his signature.
Senate Bill 143 is titled Relating to Adopt-A-Stream Program. The bill would establish an Adopt-a-Stream program to promote the cleaning of the state’s waterways, similar to the Adopt-a-Highway program.
Senate Bill 231 transfers administration of West Virginia Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Matching Funds Program to Department of Economic Development.
Both bills originated in the Senate but were amended by the House and returned to the Senate for final approval.
