Harrison and Marion County residents struggle with homelessness, substance use disorder and low wages

A retired Clarksburg bus driver, Jeff Davisson didn’t turn people down who didn’t have the 50 cents for a ride.

Before he retired in January, he often gave rides to people experiencing homelessness and to low-income families.

Although he was compassionate, he’d call people out when they pretended to put money in the cash box. He preferred they just told him.

“It’s no big deal,” he said. “And I’m sure they’re embarrassed. It’s hard for somebody to say, ‘Hey, I don’t have 50 cents.’”

Mountain State Spotlight visited Harrison and Marion counties as part of this year’s election coverage. Reporters have been asking West Virginians about the biggest challenges their communities face that they’d like to see public officials address.

Residents frequently brought up the unmet needs of people who are unhoused and people with substance use disorder. While the region has a higher prevalence of health care providers and a more diverse economy than many parts of West Virginia, residents still can’t get the health care they need at affordable prices or find well-paying jobs.

Davisson, 66, knows what it’s like to have financial problems. Although he made about $80,000 a year driving tractor-trailers across the country, he lost that work after almost 20 years. His parents were also sick, so he moved into a mobile home back in his hometown and got a job driving the city bus.

Standing in the parking lot outside a Bridgeport physician’s office, on his way to an appointment, he said his prescription drug prices are now $800 a month. Bus driving gave him chronic back pain. He has heart problems as well.

Residents of both Harrison and Marion counties described problems with the health care system, including a lack of specialists in the area and services for children with autism.

Just across Jerry Dove Drive, companies ranging from utilities and law firms to hotels and fast food restaurants are located at the White Oaks Business Park . Developers purchased the land in 2008 because of its proximity to the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division, United Hospital Center and oil and gas drilling sites.

Davisson has tried to find even low-paying work stocking shelves at chain stores like Kroger and Walmart, but he believes they won’t call him back because of his age.

“If you’re educated and you’re in the medical field and you went to school, and you’re a nurse or a doctor or a lawyer, you’re pretty well fixed around here,” he said. “But if you’re just an individual like me, trying to find a part time job, just – I can’t find anything. Nobody will even talk to me.”

Hard work for low wages

On North Fourth Street in Clarksburg, Elwood’s Pizzeria has only been open for about a year and a half but a sign inside notes it’s already been voted the best pizza in town.

Two workers, Aaron Starr and his daughter Cassidy, who live in Stealey in Harrison County, are making pizza for good wages.

But previously, Starr said he struggled to get by while basically running a local chain pizza shop and working 60 hours a week.

And when his daughter Cassidy, 16, worked construction, she said she was only paid $9 an hour, even though it was hard work lifting bags of concrete and nailing down roofs. She said male workers, even those her age, made more.

In between working the cash register and folding pizza boxes, Aaron Gallo, the owner of Elwood’s, who lives in Reynoldsville in Harrison County, said residents struggle with rising utility bills.

The unhoused population and mental health

A few doors down from the pizza shop, in the Glen Elk area of Clarksburg on the edge of downtown, the Clarksburg Mission, a faith-based shelter , serves people who are unhoused, and those with substance use disorders.

Executive Director Desi Underwood said in an email that as of 2020, the shelter held about 50 people and had few rules. But when COVID hit and the shelter required them to stay inside, people in active addiction left.

After the 13 people who stayed requested assistance with substance use disorders on site, the Mission shifted its focus and began requiring residents to follow a highly-structured, 18-month program, involving Bible studies, life skills training and more help. Those residents must remain sober to participate.

Some struggle with other challenges like mental illness.

Ultimately, workers help connect them with housing.

“What we as staff realized was that the way in which we were previously running the Mission was hurting folks more than helping,” Underwood said. “We also realized that there truly is no recovery outside of Jesus Christ.”

Some people who are homeless linger outside.  Others who are homeless camp on the outskirts of town.

Residents of both Fairmont and Clarksburg said they were concerned about the prevalence of homelessness in their area, which they said is often tied to drug use. Problematic drug use can be a contributor to homelessness.

Clarksburg Police Chief Mark Kiddy said the police department is hoping the city will use part of its share of opioid lawsuit settlement funds for case workers. He said police officers already refer the homeless and people with substance use disorders to programs that can help, like the United Way.

But he said that once people are housed, police work should end, and case workers should follow up with help like ensuring they make it to appointments for addiction or psychological treatment.

He said police officers issue citations if people camp on private property and will arrest them if they refuse to leave.

“The biggest issue we have is these people wanting help. You’ve got to follow certain rules,” he said.

Back at his doctor’s office, Davisson said his sympathy for the homeless only goes so far because he’s concerned about downtown crime, although he said the police’s recent, more aggressive response has helped.

“I’ve never met a stranger, but I’m worrying anymore about everything, even being out on the street or going anywhere. I watch where I’m at,” he said. “It’s just sad.”

He added though that TV news can blow things out of proportion, and he acknowledged that may contribute to his fear. With less of his time spent socializing, he spends a lot of time watching election coverage on channels that regularly focus on crime.

“I shouldn’t,” he said. “But I’m really into this election thing.”

Economic diversity

The region has diversified its economy more than other areas of the state that have historically relied primarily on energy extraction, with opportunities at places like UHC, White Oaks, the North Central West Virginia Airport and the I-79 Technology Park.

Just south of Fairmont, about 30 minutes north of Clarksburg on Interstate 79, drivers pass the sprawling technology park, where companies employ workers in fields like cybersecurity and software development, and where National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration antennas are visible from the interstate.

But Jim Estep, president and CEO of the High Technology Foundation, said the park has to recruit from out of the state, although employers encourage West Virginians who have moved out of state to move home.

He said West Virginia, historically, has been too reliant on fossil fuel and timber industries, while technology careers were taking off nationwide.

“Anybody who grew up in West Virginia that wanted to pursue something in that area inevitably had to leave the state,” he said.

Some people look at the lack of higher education levels among West Virginia residents and assume residents don’t care about education, but Estep interprets that differently.

“What that means is there’s just barely any jobs in the state that require much of an education past high school,” he said.

The need to change attitudes about addiction

On the campus of Fairmont State University, nursing student Steven Bly said he notices addiction is a large problem in the area, but he said that law enforcement shouldn’t be locking people up for a disease.

He said decriminalization would help because it would stop the demonization of people who use drugs, and they would feel more accepted.

In downtown Fairmont, outside of a walk-in center for people experiencing homelessness or mental health problems, people who work in addiction recovery services were handing out naloxone.

Samantha Burgess, who works for Valley HealthCare System, said transportation is a big problem for helping people who have substance use disorders.

The naloxone can save a person’s life, but getting follow-up treatment is a challenge. The buses around Fairmont make few stops on the area’s fringes, so getting to local treatment like detox and inpatient therapy remains a problem. Then, when a person needs to find a recovery residence —  also known as a sober living home, where they can live with others in recovery and continue to learn lifestyle changes — local recovery workers and volunteers have to transport them to places like Morgantown.

“It’s time consuming, but that’s just what we do,” Burgess said. “We do it because we have to have it.”

Burgess stressed that recovery residences need to be accepting of all approaches to recovery, such as 12-step programs and medication-assisted treatment. For instance, faith-based treatment may not be right for everyone.

Maxine Harker, team coordinator for the Marion County Quick Response Team,  said some don’t realize treatment is available.

“They think it’s a big, long, drawn out process and they can’t get help because there’s so much stigma around it,” she said. “Nobody wants to ask for the help.”

Harrison and Marion County residents struggle with homelessness, substance use disorder and low wages appeared first on Mountain State Spotlight , West Virginia's civic newsroom.