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Editor, News-Register:
No one wants homelessness in the city of Wheeling -- and I am committed to making that a reality.
As the Ward 3 representative, encompassing East Wheeling, South Wheeling, Center Wheeling, Mozart, and a part of downtown, I have received more calls and have had more direct experience regarding homelessness than any other member of city council.
This situation is frustrating and demands solutions. And as elected officials, we are hired by taxpayers to fix their problems, not make them worse.
As of January 1, the city's homeless encampment ban has taken effect. While I did not support this ordinance, I did support the creation of a managed camp, which at the prompting of almost the entire homeless outreach community, is part of that ordinance.
This managed camp amendment allows the city to designate a managed homeless camp with permanent beds, bathrooms, personal belongings storage, etc.
Unfortunately, a managed campsite has not been established before the ban was enacted.
With fewer beds than people (in the Winter Freeze Shelter and elsewhere combined), this leaves homeless individuals with no choice but to break the law and ties up precious law enforcement resources. It forces more people into our streets, parking lots, backyards, and places of business. No one, housed or unhoused, wants that.
I would love to see the day when we can house every person living on the streets of our city -- housing is indeed a strong platform of my mayoral campaign. But until then, we must apply practical solutions to practical problems.
Since December, 120 individual people were logged into the Winter Freeze Shelter -- the temporary shelter has approximately 40 beds. While this shelter is a godsend for many, without a managed camp, it simply cannot accommodate the current need the city is experiencing. At the end of the day, we know what works. Our Homeless Liaison and other community leaders have used a wrap-around approach to house dozens of individuals and connect even more to critical resources for finding work, healthcare, and their families. These are success stories. My goals as an elected representative are to improve the quality of life for all residents in our city, do right by tax-paying citizens, and uphold the rule of law. That is why I believe approaching this situation with clear and practical solutions is our best bet.
I am recommending that the city of Wheeling take the responsible course and pause this encampment ban until March 15th or long enough for a safe, secure, and managed camp to be created, whichever comes first.
Rosemary Ketchum
Ward 3 Councilwoman
Wheeling