BECKLEY, W. Va. -Last year, a Raleigh County nonprofit said they were in a state of shock to learn that they would be receiving steep cuts to their state funding. Now, they are preparing to close the homeless shelter they operate.
The Raleigh County Emergency Housing Center, also known as “Pine Haven,” is the largest homeless shelter in Southern West Virginia, and relies on funds from the West Virginia Department of Human Services to operate. With the cut in funding, they were scheduled to close at the end of February, leaving around thirty families without a roof over their heads.
To prevent this, the Raleigh County community Action Association, who operate the shelter, were forced to look for help more locally, imploring both the Raleigh County and the City of Beckley governments for support.
“…Of all the families that stayed there in 2024, it was pointed out that three quarters of them are from right here in Raleigh County, so this is our own people, basically. There was some people from out of state, but the majority of it was right here, our people right here in Raleigh County,” says the mayor of Beckley, Ryan Neal.
Mayor Neal says the City Council is “on board to help,” with a vote on the matter scheduled for their next meeting. In the meantime, the Raleigh County Commission voted unanimously to approve $41,000 to go to the shelter.
The president of the Commission, Greg Duckworth, says it’s unusual for the county to fund this nonprofit and for the nonprofit to ask them for help. However, the county feels it’s necessary to help the people who rely on the shelter to get through winter’s cold temperatures.
“I think it’s very important to help out… These aren’t just… single guys coming into town on a bus… These are women with children and family settings just trying to get on their feet, and I think it’s our responsibility to help them along with that,” says Duckworth.
Unfortunately, Duckworth says this funding will only be a temporary solution for the Association’s continuing financial troubles. However, through the combined efforts of the City and County, they hope to keep the shelter open for a few more months to keep people housed through the end of June.
Duckworth says the next step the Raleigh County Community Action Association will need to take is to reapply for state funding. WVVA will keep following the story and the fate of Pine Haven.
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