Wheeling to close homeless camp despite shelter bed shortage
City councilors in Wheeling gave their symbolic support for the city manager’s decision to close an exempted camp housing people experiencing homelessness.
WHEELING, W. Va. – Wheeling city councilors gave their symbolic support for the city manager to close the only camp where people experiencing homelessness are legally allowed to camp. The camp is expected to close Monday, Dec. 1. The move comes as area shelters say they are already at-capacity and as temperatures continue to decline as winter approaches.
Councilor Connie Cain, Ward 3, prompted the vote during her remarks at an Oct. 21 city council meeting. “It is my opinion that providing…an outdoor area during freezing temperatures is not in the public’s best interest,” Cain said of the issue. “[The camp] does not further the health and safety of those in the city.”
Cain argued that a “small number of people” remain at the camp during the winter months, and alleged that this number was “within the number of [shelter] beds” available within the city.
During discussion on the impromptu motion, Mayor Denny Magruder described the camp as a failure. Other members echoed this idea and claimed their action to close the camp came from compassion.
“No one should be sleeping in a tent during winter,” Councilor Tony Assaro, Ward 1, said.
In a more pointed speech, Councilor Ben Seidler, Ward 2, called the camp a “special spot of hell,” before saying there was “no more excuses about ‘we can’t get a bed’ … that problem has been solved.”
Problem solved? Service providers say otherwise…
Councilors continued to argue that there were enough beds in Wheeling for people experiencing homelessness. Cain stated that, on a recent visit to the Life Hub – a low-barrier shelter operating in downtown Wheeling – just 25 people were utilizing services out of a total capacity of 50. Her claim appears to be spurious, though.
Organizers at the Life Hub have begun to regularly update the number of beds available at the shelter. As of Monday, Oct. 27, all female beds were full, just five of 37 male beds were available, and four “specialty beds for illness and law-enforcement drop-offs” were available.
Service providers have routinely told this reporter that the Life Hub has been at-or-near capacity for several months now.
Along with the Life Hub, Northwood Health Systems and the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) also offer emergency shelters.
Lori Jones, executive director of YWCA, told this reporter that her organization’s shelter in downtown Wheeling was “full and [has] been full for months.” The YWCA houses women and children who are victims of domestic violence and/or human-trafficking, or who are experiencing homelessness or are in addiction recovery.
Citing the closure of two shelters 25 miles north in Steubenville, Ohio, earlier this month, Jones said the timing of Wheeling’s decision to close its exempted camp on Dec. 1 “could not be worse.” When asked how her organization planned to meet people’s needs after the camp closes, Jones said “I don’t know what the answer is, but thinking that nonprofits can always pick up the pieces without support is not the answer.”
While this reporter was unable to get a comment from Northwood Health Systems, other service providers have said that the organization’s shelter has just three available beds at this time.
‘Where do they want us to go?’
Wheeling Free Press has previously reported on similar camp evictions that have occurred in recent years. During one poignant example in 2023, people experiencing homelessness told this reporter they were hurt. “Where do they want us to go?” was a common question asked. Two years later, the city still does not have a clear answer.
Despite continued claims by city leaders that there are enough shelter beds in Wheeling to house every person experiencing homelessness, service providers – the people in charge of daily intake at the city’s three shelters – say that is not true.
With just a handful of beds available for the alleged dozens of people at the exempted camp, and the imminent closure of the one place where people with no other option can go and sleep, where does the city expect people to go? Right now it’s not clear, but city leaders should make their position – one based in fact – known.