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The organizers of the Life Hub -- the group working to address local homelessness with, among other things, a new shelter, medical services and other wraparound services -- took a major step this week with the purchase of the First English Lutheran Church on 16th Street in Wheeling. Now it's the group's job to keep moving forward on a clear path.
The church -- a $325,000 purchase that came fully from private donations -- gives the Life Hub the physical presence in Wheeling necessary to move the project forward. The group knows where it will be. It's now time to figure out what will occupy that space. That itself is a major undertaking.
Life Hub officials say the finished product -- a year-round low-barrier shelter and facility for medical services among them -- will take years to complete. City of Wheeling Homeless Liaison Melissa Adams said it could be as many as three years. A lot can change in that span. The makeup of the Wheeling City Council is one of those things.
The majority of the current council is backing this plan. But there's a city election coming in 2024, and the look of that council could be somewhat different or significantly different. It is imperative that those overseeing the Life Hub devise a plan that the city can get behind both now and in the future.
That group has made a good start. They're being guided by Dr. William Mercer, a good man and advocate for the region's homeless population who has long had the city's best interests at heart. Shortly, he'll be inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame, so the respect he has earned is obvious.
There are many others like Wheeling Housing Authority Director Joyce Wolen, former Youth Services System CEO John Moses and George Smoulder, former CEO of Catholic Charities and the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley, who are helping spearhead this project. This is the type of braintrust that the Life Hub needs to succeed.
This project could make a serious impact in aiding the homeless in the Ohio Valley. Those overseeing it must be careful and deliberate in their ideas and actions to ensure it's successful.