Dear Volunteers and Social Service Employees:
Gratitude is what we wish to express to each of you who have donated funds and foods, administered medical assistance, and offered the social services that help members of the city’s homeless community take the steps toward ending their time in the woods of Wheeling.
We’ve learned there are more reasons for homelessness than being “down on your luck,” and that addiction and mental illness are two primary reasons why men and women have lived in reckless encampments for several years in Wheeling, and why we’ve witnessed city leaders work with non-profits, community members, and law enforcement to provide safety for all.
Unfortunately, those efforts were made in vain far too often and arrests have been made and syringes have been tossed and found in alleys and on private property. That’s why now, after a majority of City Council members voted to ban “free-for-all” camping, an exempted area along a city maintenance trail operates with Port-A-Johns and dumpsters nearby and with volunteers providing food, clothing, supplies, and services to those in need.
In fact, we encourage celebration for those unsheltered individuals who navigated their way through the necessary systems to obtain proper identification, housing, employment, counseling, and the medical assistance they needed to gain a better home than a temporary tent. Because, after all, we believe helping homeless individuals end their homelessness must be the goal.
Thank you again for caring enough to help those who need it most. We realize, that despite all of the untruths and misinformation circulated by some, there are no perfect answers to the most difficult questions.
Sincerely,
A Few Former Soupshiners
