Photo by Casey Junkins Jay Smith, 45, at left, is paralyzed from the chest down and is now homeless. He has been spending nights at the Youth Services System Winter Freeze Shelter. Here, at the shelter, he plays a game of Jenga with YSS CEO John Moses.

WHEELING — Imagine being homeless as the temperatures plunged below zero across the Upper Ohio Valley last week. Then, try to envision the situation complicated further by being confined to a wheelchair.

That is the predicament in which 45-year-old Jay Smith finds himself. As one of the 68 people who have spent at least one night at the Youth Services System Winter Freeze Shelter since its opening on Dec. 15, Smith is grateful he can escape the cold each frigid night.

“(YSS CEO) John Moses really does all he can to help homeless people. He is not going to just leave them out there to die,” Smith said while at the shelter Friday.

Moses and YSS started the freeze shelter in 2009 because they realized how many homeless people were stuck out in the cold. He said the center, open 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. through March 15, is “always filled to capacity.”

“Maybe it takes a blast of cold winter air to truly appreciate having a place to live,” Moses said. “This week has been particularly cold, so the need is as great as ever. Even when the temperature is not cold, I feel compassion for those who are isolated and lonely.”

Smith said he is originally from New Martinsville, but relocated to Wheeling several years ago. He said he now lives on monthly Social Security payments.

“I had an apartment. Things were going pretty well,” he said of his experience in the Friendly City.

Smith said that about a year ago, he began experiencing pain in his back.

At first, he thought he just needed a new bed. When that didn’t solve the problem, he went to the doctor.

“They found out I had an infection in my spine. They had to take out some bones,” Smith said. “Now, I am paralyzed from the chest down.”

Smith can move his arms and hands, but said he needed help getting a wheelchair. He thanked Kate Marshall at East Wheeling’s House of Hagar for helping him with this.

However, just when Smith thought he had some stability, he said he got evicted from his apartment amid a dispute with the landlord.

“They said I let somebody in who was banned,” Smith said. “I think they just didn’t want the liability because I’m in a wheelchair.”

When he is not at the freeze shelter through the night, Smith said he spends his days at various locations, including the House of Hagar, the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center and the Ohio County Public Library.

“A lot of my time now during the day goes to looking for a new place,” he said. “I’m getting some help with that.”

Smith said he feels quite welcome at the freeze shelter, located in at the corner of 15th and Jacob streets in East Wheeling.

“When I had my own place, I was lonely. I’ve met so many great and wonderful people here,” Smith said.

After the purchase of the former Hazel-Atlas building by YSS, Moses and his colleagues realized they had excess space, which could be used as a shelter.

The average evening for the shelter begins around 9 p.m. when people are lined up to make sure they obtain a bed. Moses said guests are allowed entry at about 9:30 p.m. to eat a hot meal together. They then receive coffee and pastries around 7 a.m. before being asked to leave for the day.

“There are some people who simply choose to stay out, even though we would welcome them,” Moses said.

Moses said there is really no way to truly gauge the number of homeless people in Wheeling, or the Upper Ohio Valley as a whole.

“We don’t question anyone’s circumstances. We welcome everyone who needs a place to stay, and do our best to help all those in need,” he said.

Moses believes high rent costs have contributed to an increase in homelessness. Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott agrees this can be a problem for some, while he said drug addiction, mental illness and just flat-out “bad luck” also can lead to homelessness.

“I struggle greatly with the fact that I am mayor of a city that clearly has a problem of homelessness,” Elliott said. “This is something that we, as an entire community, have to come together to address.”

Although the situation seems to be in a constant state of flux, reports of homeless people living under bridges or along creeks in Wheeling have been common for several years.

Elliott said in studying how some other cities throughout the nation have dealt with homelessness, he found that some are enacting plans to give them jobs.

“We are looking at some city beautification work over the next couple of years. There may be an opportunity with that (for some of the homeless),” Elliott said.

“I am very open to working with YSS, the Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless, and other community organizations to deal with this complex problem,” he added.

For his part, Moses said he appreciates the generosity of those who work to help ease the burden on the homeless.

“I am very grateful for the response of this community in helping address the needs of the homeless,” he said. “We end up with 25-30 church groups who volunteer to help us, as well as numerous businesses and other organizations.”

Volunteers provide meals, toiletries and serve as chaperones.