Bartlett Housing Options will increase capability for the winter months

Bartlett Housing Options, the town’s main group for homeless companies, introduced Thursday that it’s going to improve mattress capability by 12 beds to offer further shelter assets for many who are experiencing homelessness in Morgantown.

Because the temperatures start to drop and there’s no various warming shelter in place, administration at Bartlett Housing Options offered a number of choices to handle the necessity.

Chief Government Officer, Keri DeMasi mentioned, “many neighborhood companions have been assembly for near a yr to determine a viable and accountable plan for a warming shelter. We all know that there are extra individuals in our neighborhood experiencing homelessness than we’ve got shelter beds and though we work tirelessly to transition people out of our emergency shelter and into everlasting housing as shortly as doable, there’s nonetheless a spot that leaves many with out a place to go.”

Regardless of these conferences, an answer for a warming shelter this yr has not been decided.

“Bartlett supplied an possibility to offer a warming shelter along with our emergency shelter however sadly that idea didn’t work out so we got here up with one other concept and that was to see what we are able to do so as to add further beds to our current emergency shelter for the winter months,” DeMasi mentioned.

DeMasi spoke concerning the current capability and the way her crew walked by way of the shelter to see what might be rearranged or repurposed to get extra beds into the shelter.

“We now have a footprint that we needed to work with, wished to stay cognizant of finest practices for congregate residing but additionally wished to see what we may do to assist our neighborhood by way of the winter months,” she mentioned. “By making some operational modifications and redesigning a number of the current area, we’re in a position so as to add 12 beds by way of the winter months bringing our complete capability from 28 to 40. Because of the Metropolis of Morgantown, we will buy the mandatory beds and linens to increase our shelter.”

The extra beds will probably be obtainable from November to March. DeMasi emphasised that this isn’t a warming shelter however as an alternative a rise to the present emergency shelter program, which receives restricted {dollars} to function 24 hours a day, 12 months a yr.

“We’re extraordinarily grateful to the Division of Well being and Human Providers, the Metropolis of Morgantown and the Monongalia County Fee in addition to a number of native foundations for his or her help of our shelter program,” DeMasi mentioned. “With out these instrumental funding sources offering our group with grant funds, we merely wouldn’t be capable to do what we do to not simply present for the fast wants of these with out a house however to really tackle ongoing vital companies to empower our purchasers to turn into stabilized and self-sufficient.”

Bartlett welcomes any help the neighborhood is prepared to offer to assist with the continued operational prices essential to hold offering the companies that impression our neighborhood.

“We aren’t only a place that gives shelter and a bathe, we work with every particular person to determine a housing plan, find and safe housing and turn into self-sufficient by offering intensive case administration and connecting purchasers to assets that promote housing sustainability,” DeMasi mentioned. “We’re proud that final fiscal yr we housed 155 individuals straight from the shelter. Many organizations like us are struggling proper now with funding cuts however like lots of our neighborhood companions, we need to proceed offering the identical excessive stage of service regardless of funding challenges not just for the sake of our purchasers however for our neighborhood as effectively.”

For extra info or to see how one can assist, go to bartletthousingsolutions.org.