Parkersburg’s public camping ban’s impact through the eyes of homeless people
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - Parkersburg’s public camping ban was signed into law on September 26th. Since then, law enforcement has had the ability to fine people anywhere from $100 to $500 for camping on public grounds.
WTAP talked to a man in the Mid-Ohio Valley who is currently homeless, a couple in Parkersburg who recently got out of homelessness, and a manager of a Parkersburg homeless shelter about the legislation’s impact.
Chris Reynolds has been homeless for four or five years now. WTAP met him at a community meal held by the salvation army.
“Every single night I’m worried about where I’m going, who I’m going to be around,” he told WTAP.
Reynolds said, while sometimes he lives outside, his living situation varies.
“Sometimes I’m staying with a friend of mine or sometimes I’m staying at the mission (Latrobe Street Mission),” Reynolds said.
Jason and Raeanna Earl got out of homelessness not too long before the public camping ban went into effect.
“..., and then, after we came out of rehab, we stayed with some family until they experienced some financial difficulties and then we ended up living down by the river…,” Jason said.
They were homeless for about two to three weeks.
Raeanna said hearing about the public camping ban was heartbreaking.
Reynolds said it makes being homeless even more stressful.
“It makes things a lot harder like choosing where I’m going to be or how I’m going to be about my daily life,” he said.
Jason doesn’t think displacing homeless people living outside and fining them fines they can’t pay is working. He thinks it will negatively impact the justice system and worries about homeless people potentially being put in worse situations if they can’t pay the fines.
“When you’re homeless, you have no money obviously…,” he said.
A disclaimer that the Parkersburg city attorney told WTAP that officials cannot arrest people for not paying the fine. However, they will be given a court date, according to the police chief. When asked if people could be arrested for not going to that court date, Police Chief Board said no.
There are multiple reasons people sleep outside instead of going to shelters. For Raeanna and Jason, staying together during homelessness was important.
“When you go into shelters and you’re married, you don’t get to remain together. You sleep in different bunks so that’s one of the reasons why we didn’t go to the shelter…,” Raeanna said.
Reynolds told WTAP that there are a variety of reasons people choose to sleep outside rather than at a shelter.
“Some people aren’t as comfortable with it. Some people don’t feel comfortable, sometimes there’s no room, sometimes…I mean, there’s just so many circumstances that come into play for so many different people,” he said.
There are two overnight shelters in Parkersburg. One is the Salvation Army of Parkersburg.
Shelter Manager Richard Whipkey said, “We turn away people regularly. We have no more capacity to house them. It’s heartbreaking this time of year to have to turn away a family with children particularly but there’s no alternative.”
Whipkey said their shelter is regularly at capacity at this time of year. He clarified that they have not had to turn people away for overnight when it’s predicted to feel or be below freezing since they make special accommodations for that.
Latrobe Street Mission staff said they’re regularly at capacity at this time of year too. However, they haven’t had to turn people away.
Both say being around capacity during the colder months has been the norm before and after the ban. However, the salvation army has been full since the summer.
Local shelters also have certain requirements you need to meet in order to stay as a resident. According to Whipkey, for the Salvation Army of Parkersburg, the main requirements are the applicant can’t be a sex offender, they can’t have any violent offenses, and they can’t have amphetamines, methamphetamines, or fentanyl in their system for their initial drug screen. He also said applicants must have an ID but that, if they don’t, the shelter can help them find a copy of theirs or connect them with a program that helps them get ID’s. Nonresidents are welcome in their overflow space when their warming station is open, which includes overnight. That is unless you are a sex offender.
Since the ban, Whipkey said some homeless people have told him that they moved out of Parkersburg. He’s also seen a drop in camping around the salvation army. A disclaimer that Whipkey does not know where a majority of homeless people he comes into contact with have been or are going.
Shelter staff told WTAP that, for both the Salvation Army of Parkersburg and Latrobe Street Mission, a majority of residents are from Parkersburg, which is the norm as well.
Reynolds told WTAP that getting out of homelessness isn’t always simple. He explained that sometimes people get so busy trying to survive that they don’t have time to take the steps to get out of their situation.
When WTAP asked Reynolds and the Earls what they think should be done to tackle homelessness in the area, they all pointed to resources. Reynolds pointed to job opportunities including jobs that you don’t need an ID for (Reynolds doesn’t have an ID, birth certificate, or social security card) and the Earls pointed to more of a focus on people with mental issues as well as people coming out of incarceration and recovery.
“They went into recovery or into jail with nothing and they’re coming out with nothing,” Jason said.
Click the links below to read WTAP’s previous coverage on Parkersburg’s public camping ban.
- Parkersburg adopts the ban. Passionate supporters and opposers of the legislation speak out at public forum.
- Local shelter executive director voices doubts over the ban’s effectiveness.
- Parkersburg introduces the ban. WTAP sits down with the city council member who lead the legislative effort.
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