29-01-2025
Beckley's homeless shelter on the verge of closing its doors; community makes their voices heard
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) – During one of the coldest parts of the year, Pine Haven Homeless Shelter is close to being shut down.
With funding cuts expected, residents say more people need the services of Raleigh County Emergency Housing Center
This comes after the news of its budget getting slashed by more than 50 percent. Pine Haven is one of the only homeless shelters in the local area.
There were several people who showed up at the Beckley City Council meeting to make their voices heard. Reverend Gabriel Covington is a community activist who showed up to support the shelter.
'While we got 30 or 20 vape shops being built on every corner here in Beckley, we should be investing in our community and not those things. Our community is [the main priority],' said Covington.
One argument that some use against the homeless shelter is that it could bring in what they say are 'unsavory individuals' as well as drug addicts. Reverend Covington said these concerns simply are not valid.
'Last year it was a majority of Raleigh County residents that stayed there,' said Covington. 'It is not bringing more drug addicts or bringing more people in recovery. It is not doing that. It is helping people in our community.'
Reverend Covington, like many of the others who spoke at this meeting, has personal experience with homelessness or homeless shelters. He told 59News not only was he homeless for a brief period of time, but so was his spouse and his mother.
'These are people. I am also a recovering addict. People do recover. People do get better and people just need a leg up. Resources [are] the biggest lack that we have in Beckley especially,' said Covington.
Beckley's homeless shelter sees budget slashed by 75 percent
59News received word that the Beckley Raleigh County Commission is doing what they can to help this homeless shelter survive the cold months and make it to June.
What lies beyond that remains unknown.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
