Based on what was said Tuesday at the Wheeling Rotary Club, this new Wheeling Homelessness Task Force chaired by Rabbi Joshua Lief of Temple Shalom could quickly get on the right track.
Lief spoke before the Rotary Club, his first speech after being named chair of the task force by Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder. There hasn't been a meeting of that task force yet -- there hasn't been anyone on the task force announced outside of Lief yet -- but the rabbi did offer some insight into how he will guide the group.
One of the first things he offered was that everyone should keep their minds open and their expectations low. That doesn't mean that the task force or any interested parties should expect to sit on their hands. The issue of homelessness in Wheeling has been wrestled with by multiple groups over several years. There also is no one magic wand to wave that will create sweeping improvements in the situation.
Incremental victories are still victories. And while they may not be flashy, they'll still be substantial, especially of the task force can stack some of those victories on top of each other.
One suggestion Lief threw out to the group is one such solution. He had heard many people complain about others relieving themselves in public spaces. So how about adding some additional public restroom facilities?
On top of that, why not see if members of the homeless community would take jobs making sure those new public restrooms remained stocked and clean? Will that one move solve the entire problem? No, but it will go a long way in solving one serious problem.
Another important statement Lief made was that those on the task force needed to listen to each other's concerns and suggestions, especially since many on task force will own differing opinions on how to tackle the situation.
"If we could all be talking with each other instead of past each other or, even worse, about each other, as all too often happens on the internet, maybe we could become not just collaborators around some shared solutions, but also really friends and neighbors committed to making our community a better place for all with whom we share it, housed and unhoused alike," he said.
There have been many voices, and some pretty loud ones, offering their suggestions (and sometimes demands) on how Wheeling's homeless situation should be handled. The solution won't just come from a single task force. It will come from groups throughout the community who are ready and willing to join together in the spirit of compromise and compassion to help.
The task force is just the beginning, but it looks like a good beginning with Lief at the helm. He's approaching this the right way, uniting the community to help those in need.
"My ideal hope is that the discussions that start with this task force will lead to people hearing each other across a broader spectrum to break down some of the silos that exist to galvanize community support for shared visions of what we could do together," Lief said.
And "together" is the most important word.