photo by: Eric Ayres

The Life Hub is located at 35-16th St. in downtown Wheeling at the former First English Lutheran Church building.

WHEELING — The Life Hub in Wheeling has continued to offer shelter for homeless adults beyond the traditional winter shelter months, and in fact, the facility is currently in its first home stretch of completing a full year-round cycle of daily operation.

During this current fiscal year, The Life Hub was awarded a $100,000 grant from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services to help cover the cost of its operations. The agency recently applied for additional state funding for the next fiscal cycle that begins July 1, as well. To be eligible for this state funding, the facility has to provide care coordination and case management to its clients, and it also must provide year-round, low-barrier shelter services for both men and women.

“It’s the first time it’s been year-round,” said Lisa Leach, shelter director at The Life Hub. “In the past, we had only been open from Dec. 15 through March 15. This past year, we opened Nov. 1 and we ran through March 31. On April 1, we opened up for women only and vulnerable men — certain individuals with physical handicaps.”

Located in the former First English Lutheran Church building at 35-16th St. in downtown Wheeling, The Life Hub has been able to utilize the state funding to expand its original plan and offer services to anyone in need.

“We’re taking everybody again,” Leach said. “Now I think we have more men than women again. We’ve got about 20 to 25 coming in every night. And we have a lot that just come in to eat or socialize.”

While funding is in place through the end of this current fiscal year ending June 30, officials at The Life Hub were hopeful that funding will be obtained to continue providing year-round services to everyone.

George Smoulder — a volunteer at The Life Hub and longtime area social services director who is former executive director of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley — spoke to city leaders in Wheeling recently to thank them for their support and to provide a breakdown of how a $100,000 allocation from the city’s pool of federal pandemic relief money from the American Rescue Plan Act was put to use in the community.

“A couple of years ago, city council provided The Life Hub with a $100,000 ARPA grant to primarily provide shelter care for those who have no place to stay in our area,” Smounder said. “First, we’d like to thank city council — along with our other generous benefactors — for your support and your faith in The Life Hub to provide these much-needed services.”

The Life Hub has operated what’s been commonly known as the local winter freeze shelter over the past three years, with the past two seasons operating out of The Life Hub’s home base in the former church building. John Moses, former long-time chief executive officer of Youth Services System Inc., today serves as executive director of The Life Hub.

“We believe it’s important for you to know how your money was spent,” Smoulder told city leaders last week. “The Life Hub has provided needed shelter care to 420 different individuals. The average number of individuals who stayed at The Life Hub each night during those cold winter months was 40, and by spending those nights there at The Life Hub, we were able to assess the other needs that our guests had and refer them to other needed services that they required.”

Officials noted that there are other shelters in the area, but other shelters have “barriers” or certain eligibility requirements for their use. Some shelters require some official form of identification, while others may only be open to veterans or individuals of a certain gender. Some provide services specifically for youth and some that accept all adults require a clean urine analysis, officials said. It was announced earlier this year that the Salvation Army in Wheeling was pausing its high-barrier shelter services for men, and officials with The Life Hub stressed the importance of continuing serving the growing need for care coordination and shelter services in the region.

“We’re the only low-barrier shelter in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia that provides shelter care for both men and women,” Smoulder said.

Providing year-round, low-barrier shelter services has always been a goal at The Life Hub, but funding from a variety of sources is needed to keep the operation going.

Tina Carinci Morris. development and marketing director for The Life Hub, said the state funding for the next fiscal year is an essential piece of the puzzle.

“It is undeniably critical,” she said.

The agency’s funding request from the state for the next fiscal year was for the maximum amount — $250,000. The Life Hub also relies heavily on individual donations, private foundation funding, corporate sponsorships, HOME4Good funding through the West Virginia Housing Development Fund and a variety of other sources of financial support.

“That allows us to continue the shelter service,” Morris said. “When this grant ends, while we’re waiting to hear about the next grant, we will have funding to cover and remain open. The need is so great.”

Morris said The Life Hub operates on a shoestring to remain open and to remain compliant with guidelines and regulations for the shelter.

“It’s difficult work, and you have to be highly trained,” Morris said. “Care coordination and case management is a key part of it.”

While fewer individuals typically seek indoor shelter during the summer months as opposed to the winter months, The Life Hub still offers beds each night, 365 days a year. During hot days in the summer, the shelter will open earlier to provide relief from the heat and humidity, officials noted.

“Because traditionally we haven’t been open during the summer, with the warmer weather and hot summer nights, I anticipate there not being as many folks as we would see in the winter months,” said Laruen Kotz, Homeless Management Information System director. “We serve folks from all regions. We’re also serving folks who are passing through from Texas or on their way to Florida. We serve everyone.”

The Life Hub keeps paperwork on everyone who comes through the facility, and most of those individuals are “one-and-done,” or simply stay for one night on their way through the area.

Aside from those passing through, there have been a number of success stories with individuals coming to The Life Hub.

“Although not many, we did celebrate 40 individuals who we helped either acquire housing or helped them to return to housing through their friends and family members,” Smoulder said. “We did this not alone, but we did this because we have many great community partners who helped us provide those needed services.”

The Life Hub has received a great deal of community support, and Smoulder said the need for that support will continue in the months ahead. Officials indicated that support from the city of Wheeling will continue to be critical for future operations and success.

“The Life Hub has established a good working relationship with the Wheeling Police Department,” he said. “Its Crisis Response Unit assists The Life Hub guests and provides many needed services they require.”

Smoulder noted last fall that The Life Hub provided unduplicated help or shelter care to around 250 people during the winter months of 2022-23. That number increased to about 370 in the winter of 2023-24 when operations moved to the former church building. Since Nov. 1 of last year, the number of people served has risen to around 460 so far, officials said.

“This type of service is very much needed in the Upper Ohio Valley,” Smoulder said. “You have to have staff to operate the shelter. We’re open now continuously all year round. If we want this to happen, we have to make sure that the shelter is going to have a stabilized funding source.”

To seek assistance for those in need, The Life Hub’s shelter can be reached at 304-905-6131.