WHEELING — After “pausing” its nightly high-barrier shelter for men, the Salvation Army in Wheeling is transitioning its focus from providing temporary beds to preventing homelessness in the community.

The mission of the group will now be to help take care of the food, rent and utility needs of those doing without, Lt. John Lawrence reported.

“We made the changes as we were looking at two different perspectives,” he explained. “One is the need of the community, and the other is our financial resources. Our command had been going into debt for years because of not having proper funding for the shelter. With the loss of other funding we had, we had to make a decision.

“For years, we have been robbing Peter from Paul to provide resources, and it’s time we get our financial house in order so we can move forward to help more people,” he said.

Lawrence explained the Salvation Army organization was operating both the high-barrier shelter in Wheeling, as well as a low-barrier shelter in Bellaire just four miles away.

After speaking with regional Salvation Army officials and representatives from the Belmont County Salvation Army in Bellaire, the decision was made that the Salvation Army in Wheeling should direct its money toward homeless prevention.

The low-barrier shelter in Bellaire takes not just men, but also women and families, according to Lawrence. It also has a chair lift for those needing handicap access.

He noted that in recent months Wheeling’s high-barrier shelter was averaging just two to five men a night, but the cost for operating the facility was nearing $135,000 a year.

It was determined redirecting those needing shelter in Wheeling to Bellaire was a better use of resources, Lawrence continued. The Salvation Army in Wheeling will transport them across the river to the Belmont County shelter.

He explained the Salvation Army in Wheeling will now put the money it spent on the shelter toward providing food, rent and utilities assistance with a goal of preventing homelessness.

The organization also has hired a second full-time caseworker to work five days a week at its Moundsville service center. Previously, there was just one full-time caseworker working out of the Wheeling facility who spent four days each week there, and one in Moundsville.

“By doing this, we’re going to help an additional 120 families each year by doing rent and utility assistance,” he said. “The numbers (helped) will actually turn out to be higher than what we had for the shelter.

“And we’re not just giving a little bit to those families, we give as much as five times as much as what some area agencies can give. We want to make sure they don’t have to go to five different agencies if at all possible. We want to take care of their needs all at one stop.”

Lawrence said about an extra $30,000 will be put toward rent and utility assistance in the community by the Salvation Army.

During the last holiday season, the Salvation Army in Wheeling had a goal of taking in $200,000 with the hopes of keeping the nightly shelter in use. The 2024 Red Kettle Drive, however, generated about $90,000 — just below 2023 figures. When additional donations were added, the total collected actually exceeded the past year’s amount, but was still nowhere near $200,000, according to Lawrence.

The Salvation Army in Wheeling next began to phase out the shelter in late December, with the last resident moving out in late January, he said.

Lawrence reported three employees were affected. One was transferred to another Salvation Army Unit, a second went to work next door at the Salvation Army store on 16th Street, and the third took a job elsewhere working with children.

It was just two years ago that the Salvation Army went through a renovation that included an upgrade of its shelter and needed structural improvements on the second floor. A total of 35 new beds and mattresses were purchased with the expectation the Salvation Army would be starting a partnership with a second organization.

There were never more than 10 beds used on any one night as the partnership plan was abandoned after the renovation, according to Lawrence.

“When that fell through, it made continuing it (the shelter) not an option,” he explained. “We actually used funds and grants from our reserves to renovate the upstairs.

“If there is ever an emergency, or if major flooding occurs, we have the facilities to be able to help during those times. Even if we are not using the shelter, it is available for use during natural disasters,” he said.