MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A plan to put 15 families into 15 homes for the holidays is taking shape in Morgantown.
According to Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom, interviews of potential families are moving forward.
“We put our first two households into apartments, we have two more signing leases today, and we have six more households that are in the process,” Bloom said.
Bloom credited the work of Rachel Coen and the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness for the effort, adding the entire community has come together to make this happen.
“It’s been a really great event,” Bloom said. “I want the community to know it can work. It’s a big change for these individuals (and) a big change for the community, and if you work together to come up with legitimate solutions and not academic reasoning, I really believe this can work and it is succeeding.”
Bloom said they have learned valuable lessons from landlords, service providers and others that will be important in the future.
The families selected as part of the program will have a year of counseling and life-coaching designed at helping them be independent.
Bloom noted the program will continue as long as results are satisfactory.