|Photo by Emma Delk| The temporary shelter located across the street from the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center will be closed March 15 following the WV DOH's termination of the OCC's lease of the parking space

WHEELING – The homeless shelter located across from the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center will be closed March 15 following the West Virginia Division of Highways terminating the Ohio County Commission’s lease on the property.

The closure of that camp leaves the future of those using it in limbo. With a city ordinance in place banning camping on public property – and allowing for a managed camp within city limits – city officials and homeless advocates are still working to find a suitable spot for that managed camp.

Ohio County Commissioner Randy Wharton explained the commission received a letter from the WVDOH “about a week or so ago” that informed the commission they had a lease to use the 18th Street space for parking in conjunction with another agency.

The WVDOH informed the county commission the lease would be terminated on March 15 because the commission was not abiding by the terms of the lease since they were not using the space for parking, according to Wharton.

“The lease goes back to around 2006 and was renewed several years ago,” recalled Wharton, who noted the commission helped the agency with the lease because a person could not privately lease the space.

“I don’t remember a lot about our lease on the space for parking, all I know is that the commission does not use it for parking now,” he continued. “I think we were involved at the time to help another agency that was not Catholic Charities or another social service agency use the space for parking.”

The space had not been used for parking by the Ohio County Commission or their partnering agency for “a while,” according to Wharton, who added that, “for some reason the lease was still in place.”

“The state discovered the lease was in place and that’s when they notified us that they were going to cancel it,” explained Wharton. “It’s fine with us that the lease will be canceled because we are not, to my knowledge, partnering with that agency anymore or need that parking still. What the (Division) of Highways’ intentions are after our lease is terminated on March 15, I don’t know.”

Spokespeople in Charleston for the state Department of Transportation could not be reached for comment on their plans for the space as of Monday evening.

Project HOPE Physician Dr. William Mercer, who provides medical treatment for residents at the 18th Street camp, said he was informed last week that the letter the WVDOH sent to the county commission included that residents of the camp had to leave by March 15.

“The problem right now is that we still have no other place for them to go,” said Mercer.

The city council’s ordinance banning camping on public property allows City Manager Robert Herron to permit the establishment of a managed camp or camps that would be exempt from the ban on camping on public property.

“The discussions are still focused on finding a suitable location for the camp,” said Mercer. “There hasn’t been a decision yet on where the camp will be.”

With “ongoing discussions about alternative places” for the camp still taking place, Mercer explained there was not enough time for a permanent managed camp to be established by next Friday.

Mercer pointed out that the WVDOH’s deadline for the evacuation of the shelter coincides with when the Life Hub’s Winter Freeze Shelter will close for the season, meaning there would be no established shelter for homeless residents in the city come March 15.

Mercer hopes the WVDOH will extend the deadline of the lease termination until June 1, which is when he hopes a permanent shelter has been established in the city.

While Mercer is “surprised” the temporary camp at 18th Street has worked out “fairly well,” he noted that with a large concentration of homeless people in a small space, “there are some incidents.”

The 18th Street camp can fit up to 25 tents and is currently at capacity, according to Mercer. Residents of the camp have access to food, laundry, showers and a medical clinic at Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center across the street.

Mercer noted that since the shelter is under a highway overpass, the camp is protected from the inclement weather.

“Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it has worked out, but this is not the best place for it,” said Mercer. “It puts a little bit too much burden on Catholic Charities and they are not managing it. There’s other discussion taking place for a managed camp location, I just hope the state can extend that deadline for closing the camp.”

Catholic Charities Northern Regional Director Ashlie Kotson said the situation was “out of the hands” of the organization at this point. Until Herron approves a location, Kotson said Catholic Charities is “in limbo.”

“On March 15, the Winter Freeze Shelter and the temporary location will both close, so what will we do then?” Kotson questioned. “We are trying to look at other options for a temporary shelter.”

City Manager Robert Herron said he had been aware of the March 15 deadline for the camp to be evacuated for “about a month.” He explained the city recognizes the date and emphasized that Catholic Charities and the city “knew the 18th Street location was temporary when they went into this.”

“The city is aware of the WVDOH’s position and we appreciate their cooperation,” said Herron. “It has already been indicated the 18th Street shelter was temporary and we would need additional space once the Winter Freeze shelter closes. We don’t want the current location to become so crowded it becomes problematic.”

Herron said he would consider approaching the WVDOH about an extension of the lease for the 18th Street location if the city cannot get another location established “as soon as possible.” He added that they were “full steam ahead” on the front of establishing a permanent location, with a tour and review of one possible location for a permanent camp happening this week.

“The goal here is to have another exempted location as soon as possible,” said Herron. “We are pushing to have it open as early as we can. The Ohio County Commission and the (Division) of Highways have been very cooperative. We are all trying to pull together to find and establish a permanent location.”