Life Hub Winter Shelter Opens

Two years of collaboration between social service agencies, city officials, faith-based organizations and individuals came to fruition in the opening of the Life Hub Winter Shelter on Friday.

Designed to keep homeless individuals warm during the winter months, the shelter will operate from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. throughout the winter months at a 40-bed capacity.

"We've worked with many local nonprofit agencies throughout our town to make this happen," said Melissa Adams, the City of Wheeling's Homeless Liaison who serves as the Interim Life Hub Executive Director. "We are so grateful and thankful for each and every single one of them."

Permanently located at the former English Lutheran Church at 35-16th Street in downtown Wheeling, the Life Hub purchased the building in May using funding from individual donations and private foundation funding.

There are two stipulations for those staying at the shelter, according to director John Moses - no violence or drug use. Moses stressed that the shelter's philosophy is "harm reduction rather than prohibiting people's use," with staff trained in Narcan administration.

"We do our very best to try to encourage our people that have an active addiction to make different choices," noted Moses. "Hopefully, they will tend to rehab and get the quality of life they deserve."

The shelter will have 20 staff members on its payroll including the maintenance crew. The building will be staffed in split shifts, described Moses, with three paid workers at the shelter from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. and the next group of three coming in from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Apart from staffing, local organizations will pitch in throughout the winter season at the shelter. Meals will be provided by the Catholic Neighborhood Center, the Soup Kitchen and HoH-Share at their locations throughout the week, as well as providing snacks at the shelter. Youth Services System, Street Moms and other partnering organizations will provide toiletries as well as showers and laundry.

To address the medical needs of those staying at the shelter, Project HOPE will visit the building once a week. Dr. William Mercer, a physician with the organization, explained that having a set-in-stone location at the former church will allow them to give early treatment to injuries and prevent infections from "getting out of hand."

"A challenge for us in the past was finding those who need treatment at the camps or under the bridges," said Dr. Mercer. "We’ll be busy here because we'll know many of the people staying, so they will accept our treatment."

Before the Life Hub Winter Shelter, there was no set-in-place shelter where the homeless in Wheeling could head to in the wintertime. In past years, temporary winter shelters have been created at other local agencies, such as YSS and the Catholic Charities Center.

Beginning her work in creating a permanent winter shelter "almost three years ago," to see her vision become a reality was exciting for Adams. Noting that the road to opening has been long for the Life Hub, Adams was proud of the organization for weathering the challenges that came their way.

Receiving $100,000 in American Rescue Plan funding from the city council during their Dec. 5 meeting, Adams explained the Life Hub will use $21,000 of the funding to help secure market tax credits and historical tax credits for the winter shelter's building. The rest of the money will go toward securing an architect for the design of the three-story, year-round homeless facility that will be built in the parking lot of the 35-16th Street building.

Acknowledging that there are "a lot of questions and pushback" to creating a permanent homeless shelter downtown, Adams said that moving forward on the project "feels good."

On whether having a permanent shelter encourages homelessness, Adams responded it has been "evident as to why there is a need for even having a shelter like this."

"I really personally do not feel that this is going to increase the numbers of homeless individuals," added Adams. "If anything, we've had a significant decrease in the amount of homeless individuals over the last year."

Despite the decrease in homeless overall in the city, Adams predicts an increase in those staying at the shelter when the city's new camping ban goes into effect on Jan. 1. Adams said the Life Hub already is seeing an uptick in visitors seeking permanent housing due to concerns of the legal implications they might face by camping. Adams expects many individuals who have chosen not to stay at the winter shelter in the past coming once the new ban is in place.

With last year's shelter at Catholic Charities reaching max capacity "a few times," according to Adams, she expects the same for the new facility when the ban goes into action and temperatures lower.

Adams commended the work homeless individuals have done in helping bring the shelter to life. She explained they helped move furniture and build beds, with some showing up to assist every day.

"The amount of people who helped put this together from the homeless population was huge," said Adams. "We have also hired an individual on the staff who was within that pocket of homeless populations, so it's come full circle for them."

Coming "full circle" from being homeless to fully employed and housed is a goal that Adams hopes the rest of the population who stay at the shelter will eventually reach. By giving the homeless a place to be "inside, safe and warm," Adams hopes they can "start working towards their future goals," with staff present to discuss those goals with them.

"We want to encourage them to put tools in their toolboxes that will make a difference in their lives," said Adams. "We want them to feel personally responsible for that change, too."