The Primary's Final Stretch and My Plan to Tackle Homelessness
Early voting is underway, and we are into the final stretch of the Primary Election. All of the Meet the Candidates and neighborhood association meetings are done, and I’ve started going door-to-door to meet voters. If you would like to walk around with me in your neighborhood, just let me know.
You can see Cabell County’s early voting locations and hours here. Also, there are some terrific voter resources at GoVoteWV.com, including a sample ballot that you can find here.
The Gallaher Village Neighborhood Association sent all the candidates a questionnaire that asked many of the questions you’ve heard me answer before. I’ve spoken many times about my approach to tackling the homelessness problem. I haven’t written about it in my posts, though, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share my response.
How effective do you think the current programs and policies in place addressing homelessness and the drug addiction, litter problems, and petty crime associated with it are?
As anyone can see by the growing number of people living on the streets, they are not as effective as they could be. The situation in Huntington is alarming, and we need to address it before it spirals further out of control. My plan for addressing homelessness includes three steps.
First, we need to gather data to fully understand the extent of the problem. We don’t know how many people experiencing homelessness in Huntington are originally from the local area versus those who have come from far away to seek help. From a one-night snapshot count taken in January 2023, we know that homelessness climbed by 38% in one year, but we lack comprehensive data that captures the problem during the summer months or identifies where everyone is coming from. Knowing where people are from will help us better care for those who are here and may lead to a deeper understanding of how to prevent the problem from worsening.
Second, we need to help homeless individuals access the resources they need. In the most recent survey of the Huntington area, participants self-reported that 65% were suffering from substance use disorder, and 62% were living with severe mental illness. To solve this problem, the city needs to partner with our healthcare providers and the addiction sciences team at Marshall University so that we can holistically treat the underlying causes of homelessness.
Third, we need to stop unscrupulous businesses from profiting off the suffering in our community. There are too many bad actors in the recovery industry who need to be driven out of business and/or prosecuted. In my administration, we will use the legal system to its fullest extent to ensure that no one can exploit the vulnerable for profit.
Other campaign updates:
The Huntington mayor's race is gaining statewide attention. Here is an article from West Virginia MetroNews about the race. Huntington mayoral race highlights issues of drugs, homelessness, infrastructure
At a membership meeting for Huntington-based Howard P. Hall VFW Post 1064 and East HuntingtonVFW Post 9738, these two proud organizations voted to consolidate the chapters. The new organization will be known as the Greater Huntington VFW Post 1064 and hold their meetings at the VFW building in Guyandotte. At a time when our military veteran population is shrinking, I’m grateful to everyone in leadership positions who helped bring our community together for the common good.
Lastly, following up on my earlier post about painting the concrete obelisks that serve as street signs throughout our neighborhoods, I want to congratulate William Anderson for successfully completing his Eagle Scout project. Thanks to funding from Councilmember Mount through a City of Excellence Microgrant, William has rehabilitated about a dozen obelisks. His work reminds us that tomorrow can indeed be better than today if we take action to make it so.
Thank you for reading. If you have only recently discovered Patrick’s Post, you can subscribe with this button and receive regular updates to your inbox.
Also, please share or forward this message to your friends and family members who want to help make Huntington a better place to live and work!
Good Luck Patrick! JPS