The announcement this week of a new task force to address homelessness in the city of Wheeling was met with hope from some, skepticism from others. Both of those emotions have been prevalent when it has come to previous attempts to address the issue.

There are plenty of Wheeling residents who want to see those who are homeless in our city find they help they need to find homes, be it here or elsewhere. Yet there are others who don’t feel the issue has ever been addressed properly, and they’re waiting with wariness to see if this attempt is any better than they others.

From what Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder described in announcing this task force looks like the most deliberate and purposeful attempt to address the problem so far. It’s not that there weren’t noble efforts to fix the problem in the past. There were several, but they stalled out from inaction, bickering or otherwise.

This task force feels different. It will be led by members of the city’s faith community. It will include representatives from city government, public safety, health organizations, social service and mental health specialists, downtown business operators and area residents. Magruder expects to have more than two dozen people on the task force.

That’s good. A wide spectrum of voices is needed to discuss this issue.

“This is a community problem,” Magruder said. “It’s a problem that cannot be ignored, and that’s why we’re here.”

What also is reassuring is that, from what Magruder said during the announcement, the city has realized it can’t simply punish its way out of the problem. Solving it will take a multi-pronged approach. This became clearer when the city closed the one exempted homeless site in Wheeling, the one place the city’s homeless could camp and not run afoul of the city’s outdoor camping ban.

The exempted site had become a mess littered with trash among other problems. Yet when that camp closed, the problem didn’t end. It just moved.

“What we have seen is not acceptable,” the mayor said. “Some of the families in the area are telling us that they don’t feel comfortable bringing their children to the waterfront, the new splash pad or other public events. Some of our senior citizens hesitate to visit the library any longer. Visitors to Independence Hall have expressed concerns to the director there. Business owners are dealing with disruptions, disorder and behavior that drives customers away.”

Again, Magruder understands that punitive measures aren’t the only solution. This task force will search for holistic answers, touching the realms of mental health and addiction services, and looking at the problem with compassion.

That’s why the proposed makeup of this task force is so promising and why the actual makeup of this task force will be incredibly important. Voices from every corner of the city will have a chance to speak. What is crucial is that they be heard.

Magruder said he has heard that isn’t always the case.

“I’m going to be honest with you — I’ve heard that many of the agencies will not work together,” Magruder said. “Maybe that’s not true. That’s what I hear. Maybe we can figure out how to better work together and how to bring more people to the table.”

If that is true, it must end, for the sake of the people this task force is trying to help. Consensus likely won’t come easily. If there’s a drawback to a lot of voices in one room, its that, if the room devolves into bickering and pettiness, the voices just become noise.

What everyone on that task force must understand is that no one person, whether they be homeless advocates or those who want to take a more punitive approach, will get everything they want. The pendulum will not swing to the extremes.

If this is to work, every task force member must come to the table in the spirit of compromise. The needs and feelings of Wheeling’s homeless population must be considered in every decision this task force makes. But the needs and feelings of Wheeling’s housed community must also be given the same consideration.

Improving Wheeling’s homelessness problem will not be easy. This will be as heavy of a lift as any task the members of this task force will undertake. But here’s what Wheeling has in its corner ­– a city full of good, smart, compassionate minds that will have everyone’s best interests at heart.

Let this attempt at solving the problem be the one that moves the city forward to a better day for everyone.