Nonprofit Sought To Take Control of Project HOPE Street Medicine Group
Niamh Coomey Trending
The Wheeling-Ohio County Board of Health is moving forward with the process of handing off the street medicine program Project HOPE to a local nonprofit of their selection.
After several months of discussion and two special committee meetings hashing out financial and ethical details of the split, the board has disseminated applications for local nonprofits to take the reins of Project HOPE.
"Everything takes time, so we need to make sure we do it correctly," Project HOPE's Dr. William Mercer said.
Several organizations have contacted the board seeking more information, including Catholic Charities, who Project HOPE leadership has indicated they would like to join forces with.
The board provided Catholic Charities leadership with more detailed financial information, such as personnel costs and the costs associated with operating Project HOPE's mobile medical clinic vehicle, in which volunteers make rounds at Wheeling's homeless encampment.
"Now it's just trying to get things a little bit more on paper, what would be our staffing, what would that look like, who pays what, what's covered by Catholic Charities, what's covered by Project HOPE," Mercer said.
"But I do foresee a good chance that we will be moving. We still have until April 1.. Others can apply."
The Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless also reached out seeking more information from the board on what adopting Project HOPE might entail. Several other local nonprofits contacted the health department indicating they did not have an interest in taking on Project HOPE.
Project HOPE leadership has been long pushing for the split as they feel their staffing and resource needs have grown beyond what the health department can provide them. Several points of contention still need to be ironed out, such as where the Project HOPE mobile healthcare van will be housed. Currently, Project HOPE rents a spot in a Red Cross garage.
Mercer said Project HOPE has looked at other potential locations for storage of the van should the health department keep the contract with the current garage after the split. However the mobile medical clinic requires a large amount of space, Mercer said.
It also remains unclear how Project HOPE would continue its participation and licensure with the health department's needle exchange program, particularly with several bills seeking to axe the exchange programs statewide currently moving through the West Virginia Legislature.
Another ongoing discussion point is how clean water will be provided to those staying at Wheeling's exempted encampment. Currently Project HOPE provides water buffaloes and the county regularly tests the water to ensure its safety.
A proposed statewide camping ban being discussed by lawmakers -- and talks among city leadership about the future of the camp -- may impact how the camp operates and what is provided for the unhoused community regardless.
There is also a database containing personal patient information that Project HOPE volunteers have access to that would likely need to be transferred to the new owner of the program.
It is not yet clear how these responsibilities would shift once Project HOPE is acquired by another organization and amid the proposed legislative changes.
Applications for acquiring Project HOPE are due on April 1, after which the special committee will review candidates. The board is slated to make a final decision on the hand-off in May.