PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Like many areas across West Virginia, Parkersburg and Wood County officials are continuing to evaluate how to handle its local homeless population.
Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce said various mayors and the Wood County Commission are working on identifying the reason for an increase in homelessness, as well as engage the outreach community on ways to decrease the number of homeless people.
Joyce pointed to several organizations that provide meals to homeless people as a possible source.
“I think there is a fine line between encouraging empowerment and encouraging dependence or enabling,” he said recently on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Joyce said he wants organizations to focus on addressing the root cause of homelessness.
“If someone is addicted, have they been to rehab? Are they interested in going back into a treatment program?” he said.
Among the complaints, Joyce has heard from residents and business owners include panhandling and “petty crime.”
“Every city of size in the state has seen an increase and it’s nationwide. The key is to educate the service providers as well as the community across the board,” he said. “Homelessness is not now nor will it ever be a crime in of itself, and I really think there are efforts we can do to improve the situation.”
The city is starting a pilot program to reunite homeless people not from the Mid-Ohio Valley with loved ones; Joyce said they will send people to areas where there is a confirmed family member.
“I think it is important that we do everything to maintain their dignity. It’s really multi-faceted,” he said.