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photo by: Eric Ayres

Beds are made and ready at The Life HubÀÏ˾»úÖ±²¥™s facility in the former First English Lutheran Church building at 35-16th St. in downtown Wheeling. The low-barrier winter shelter is set to open for the season on Friday.

WHEELING — The winter shelter operated by The Life Hub in Wheeling is set to open this Friday, and thanks to additional state funding, the organization is taking one step closer toward its goal of becoming a low-barrier shelter available year round.

Officials at The Life Hub said support from traditional local donors and supporters has been supplemented this fiscal year by a $100,000 grant from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services.

Last year, the winter shelter was open from Nov. 15 to March 15 during the cold weather months. This year, the additional funding will not only allow the shelter to open earlier in the fall and close later in the spring, it will also allow The Life Hub to continue accommodating women who need shelter well into the spring months next year.

“It’s starting to get cold, so we’re trying to respond to that need,” said Deacon George Smoulder, interim assistant director of The Life Hub. “Also, we’re hoping to be open all year round.”

Unhoused men and women who need shelter in the evenings will be able to escape from the elements during operating hours at The Life Hub from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. from Nov. 1 through March 31. Thereafter from April 1 to June 30, funding is in place to continue accepting women in need.

The Life Hub’s ultimate goal has been to provide on a year-round basis a low-barrier shelter for those in the community who need it.

“Last year, I think we provided unduplicated help or shelter care to 370 some people,” Smoulder said. “The previous year, it was 250, so we can see that the need is increasing.”

For the second year in a row, The Life Hub will operate the winter shelter at its facility in the former First English Lutheran Church building at 35-16th St. in downtown Wheeling. Before The Life Hub acquired the former church building, it operated the winter shelter during the previous year in space provided by Catholic Charities at its facility on Main Street in Center Wheeling.

Smoulder noted that other shelters are available in the area, but he indicated that each has specific eligibility requirements or can accept only certain groups of individuals — such as only men, only women, only veterans or only youth. The winter shelter accepts everyone in need with no “barrier” or requirement, and the goal of The Life Hub is to eventually offer these needed services throughout the year.

“A low-barrier shelter has existed in the Wheeling area for 14 years, this will be the 15th year. The first 12 years, it was operated by Youth Services System,” Smoulder said.

The Life Hub is the only low-barrier shelter in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. The low-barrier model ensures that no individual is turned away because of a lack of identification or ongoing struggles with addiction. That does not mean there are no rules at the shelter, officials stressed, noting that the cardinal rule — no violence — has been widely respected.

Trained staff members are able to manage crisis situations such as overdoses and emergency medical responses, as well.

The YSS shelter — known then as the Winter Freeze Shelter — was a low-barrier option for the community during winter months. The former director of YSS, John Moses, is now the interim executive director of The Life Hub. Serving as interim assistant director, Smoulder served the community for years as executive director of the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley, and before that, worked as executive director of Catholic Charities for nearly three decades.

Along with Tina Carinci Morris, The Life Hub’s development and marketing director, the long-tenured administrative team works pro-bono for the organization. The trained staff at The Life Hub’s shelter is paid, and they are supported by several service organizations in the community.

“We do have different people and organizations that volunteer and provide us with some of the tangible needs that we require in order to operate the shelter,” Smoulder said. “The community has been very good to us. Thankfully through some individual donations, foundations especially and some companies, we’ve been able to operate these past two years.”

Agencies that work in partnership with The Life Hub to provide coordinated services include but are not limited to Street Moms — street outreach; Project Hope — street medicine; Catholic Charities for meals, daytime center, case management and other services; The Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling for meals and snacks; House of Hagar for meals, showers and client laundry; Northwood Health Systems for mental health services and beds; WVU Medicine – Wheeling Hospital and Wheeling Health Right for medical care; and the city of Wheeling for the Northern Panhandle Continuum of Care.

“Part of why The Life Hub was created was to continue the mission – to respond to the need that exists in our area to have a low-barrier shelter in which everyone is welcome to stay,” Smoulder explained. “We don’t discriminate against anyone. We recognize that everyone is a child of God and deserves proper care and a place to stay.”

Smoulder said it was important to provide shelter for people in need for many reasons — not just to get away from the cold weather.

“We want to provide an alternative place that hopefully most people will feel comfortable coming into,” he said, noting that The Life Hub is a safe place where people escape from elements, and in some cases, escape from violent and unsafe situations.

“By having the shelter open not only earlier but to have it available all year round, we hope to be able to reduce that,” Smoulder said. “And there are also illnesses to consider. Staying outside and being in close quarters, even outside … people can become ill with diseases and illnesses that spread.”

The Life Hub collaborates with existing agencies to coordinate services to meet the basic needs of those experiencing homelessness. The team also collaborates to help connect individuals with housing options, addiction services, mental or physical health services and employment opportunities.

A shelter provides immediate relief, stabilizing vulnerable populations and facilitative pathways to long-term housing and self-sufficiency, officials said.

“Oftentimes we’ve heard in the past how The Life Hub is duplicating services and how there’s millions and millions of dollars coming into our area to help people who have shelter needs,” Smoulder said. “If that’s happening, it’s not coming to us.”

Smoulder said the Department of Health and Human Resources grant was the first sizable contribution of its kind received by The Life Hub. He noted that they will need to continue receiving donations and seeking grant funds in order to operate year-round.

Officials noted that by providing an immediate nighttime safe shelter and a pathway to services without barriers, The Life Hub can intervene before individuals become chronically homeless. In light of today’s poverty rate, low wages, housing costs and limited affordable housing options in the city, a low-barrier shelter offers a “vital safety net.”

The Wheeling Housing Authority is the fiscal agent for The Life Hub and offers in-kind fiscal administration. The Housing Authority adheres to all fiscal compliance in accordance with HUD and is experienced in managing government funding.

A new board was recently put in place for The Life Hub. Ex-official board members who do not vote as active board members include Moses, Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron and Wheeling Housing Authority Executive Director Joyce Wolen.

The new Life Hub board of directors includes: Susan Brossman, Street Moms – street outreach; Betsy Jividen, retired commissioner with the West Virginia Department of Corrections; The Rev. Neil Leftwich, Northern District area superintendent of the United Methodist Church; Dr. William Mercer, medical director of Project Hope — street medicine; Tammy Miller, (board treasurer at The Life Hub) and deputy director of the Wheeling Housing Authority; Kristy Myers, director of crisis services at Northwood Health Systems; Mark Phillips, executive director of Catholic Charities West Virginia; and Michele Rejonis, (board secretary at The Life Hub) and marketing and community relations specialist for the city of Wheeling.

Donations to The Life Hub can be made online at lifehubwv.org by clicking the “Donate” button or by sending a check made out to The Life Hub and mailed to P.O. Box 2089, Wheeling, WV 26003.