WHEELING - Paul Arthur once had everything he ever wanted: a successful restaurant, a beautiful beach house and a loving wife.
After losing his 30-year-old bride, Patricia, to scleroderma, an incurable tissue-attacking disease, Arthur realized there was no amount of money that could bring her back. He decided to give most of his earnings away and he left Florida, living in his car all across the United States.
With no more money and nowhere to go, Arthur, 61, a Pittsburgh native, read in a library book that the city of Wheeling was one of the safest places in the U.S. to live.
Article Photos
Photo by Shelley Hanson
Salvation Army homeless shelter residents and workers, from left, Luke Briggs, Bill Creely and Paul Arthur talk about life in Wheeling while standing in front of the shelter on 16th Street.
Soon after, he found his way to the Friendly City and the Wheeling Salvation Army's emergency shelter on 16th Street. Since living there, he has cooked at a couple different local restaurants. Then the Salvation Army offered him a job cooking for his fellow shelter residents. He also works security at the center's front desk.
"I feel better now than when I had all that money," Arthur said. "Having all that money didn't help me or my wife when she was alive."
Arthur is one of the hundreds of thousands of people the Wheeling Salvation Army has helped in its 125-year history, which is being highlighted May 18 during the organization's annual volunteer appreciation luncheon.
Wheeling was the first Salvation Army Corps established in the state of West Virginia in 1883, and continues to be one of the few Army corps statewide with an emergency shelter.
The luncheon, set for noon-1 p.m. at the Corps Community Center, 3333 Eoff St., South Wheeling, is open to the public. There is a cost. To make a reservation, call 304-233-4400 by Thursday. The gathering is the organization's way of saying "thank you" to its volunteers and donors.
Maj. Dianna Blevins, who runs the organization with her husband, Maj. John Blevins, noted the 35-bed shelter is near capacity every day.
It's the only local homeless shelter that houses men, women and families.
And as financial times get tougher, more people are relying on the Salvation Army, she noted.
"In Wheeling, we never know what the day will bring. Thank God we have this wonderful resource," Dianna Blevins said. "The mission of the Army is to help the less fortunate."
She noted the Army Corps counsels people through some of the most dire times of their lives - homelessness brought on by a variety of hardships, such as job loss, domestic violence, medical issues and more. The people in need are at their most vulnerable, their states of mind fragile.
"Sometimes you have to step back and seek prayer," she said.
The shelter is more than just a temporary roof over people's heads. The Army Corps gives guidance, encouragement and nourishment to help residents focus in the morning while on their way to find a new job, to start a new life. Milk, bread and other fast foods are in constant need, as residents are always on the go, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. when they are permitted back into the shelter for the night. Many, she noted, walk 5 miles to the WorkForce West Virginia office in Warwood because they cannot afford bus fare. Having snacks to take on the road keeps up their strength for the long journey, the test taking once they arrive, and the walk back to their temporary home.
"When my babies leave, when they find a job and get their life back in order ... when they walk out of here and stand tall - that gets me energized for the next family," Dianna Blevins said.
Two of Arthur's new friends, Bill Creely and Luke Briggs, also are living and working at the shelter. Creely, 49, originally from New Jersey, lost his job in Wheeling and sought help at the shelter. He began volunteering at the Army Corps' warehouse, where donated clothing, furniture and other items are sorted. He now is a part-time warehouse and security employee.
Creely wants to make a new life in Wheeling for his adolescent children who are now living in Weirton.
Without a car of his own, Creely noted it has been difficult finding full-time employment he can reach via public transportation. The jobs either start too early or too late for the bus system to get him there on time. Arthur noted paying for cabs quickly eats up one's wages.
But if Creely has his choice, he will stay in Wheeling.
"I like it here. It's more laid back," he said, noting New Jersey was a little too fast paced and overcrowded for his taste. He lived there for 35 years.
Briggs, 44, was born in Rochester, N.Y., and grew up in North Rose-Wolcott, N.Y. He's been homeless off and on during the past 10 years.
"I would never choose to be homeless. I'd prefer to have at least a good camping outfit," said Briggs, who also works in the warehouse.
Creely and Arthur describe Briggs as a gentle giant of sorts; he can lift a bed with one hand.
Briggs said he is thankful the Salvation Army and the Blevins exist.
"None of us are perfect. I'm not perfect, that's for sure," he said.
Arthur believes some people's misconceptions about the homeless are caused by the actions of a few. He reminds people, however, that homeless doesn't mean hopeless.
According to information provided by the Blevins, the first account of the first Salvation Army Corps in West Virginia was recorded in the organization's "War Cry" publication on March 15, 1883. The article talks about a meeting being held in Wheeling, attended by "Capt. Thomas" and "Lt. Ross." There was a march through the city to the church hall.
"The saloons were emptied and houses vacated while we passed along the streets. People rushed out at the sound of Captain Irons flute, accompanied by the sound of tambourines. The hall was crowded to excess, and soldiers spoke up well. A look at the faces testified of the change in their hearts. Five precious souls were rescued from the grasp of Satan. This is only the beginning, more to follow yet in the fight," according to an excerpt from the article.
In Allen Satterlee's book, "Sweeping Through the Land: A History of The Salvation Army in the Southern United States," he cites a May 31, 1883 "War Cry" article that says this about the Army's work in Wheeling: "In this land of tobacco and bad whiskey, it means something for men to give up these things; and nothing but the Holy Ghost can enable men to do it; ..."
It took a few years for the Salvation Army concept to catch on in the Friendly City. Its headquarters moved to and from a variety of buildings over the years. Its social service center, where the homeless shelter is situated, currently is located at 140 16th St. Next to it is a thrift store where sales of furniture and other items help keep the shelter running.
John Blevins noted the Army Corps is willing to pick up furniture donations in Ohio County. The items are needed not only to sell, but to give to people leaving the homeless shelter.
"When people come here, they have nothing. And when they leave here, they have nothing," Dianna Blevins said, citing the need for donations.
The Salvation Army began in the United States in 1879 with an inaugural meeting in Philadelphia. Prior to that, the organization was founded in England by William Booth, an evangelist who in 1852 began preaching in the streets of London and whose first converts were "thieves, prostitutes, gamblers and drunkards," according to the Salvation Army Web site.
The Salvation Army has 7,686 total centers of operation across the U.S., but none receive funding from the national headquarters. The organizations rely on donations from local residents and organizations such as the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley. Each holiday season, the Wheeling Salvation Army conducts its Red Kettle campaign during which volunteers collect donations in containers outside of Ohio County retailers. They money is used to pay bills related to running the shelter and continue social services.