West Virginia

West Virginia releases first comprehensive study on homelessness – WV MetroNews

Published

6 months ago

July 9, 2024

West Virginia releases first comprehensive study on homelessness – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A new study on homelessness released by the state Department of Human Services (DoHS) this week highlights the diverse demographics and challenges many people face across the state.

Christina Mullins

It’s the first comprehensive study of homelessness in the state required by state law.

SB 239, which lawmakers passed during the 2023 legislative session, required the Bureau for Behavioral Health to complete the study.

The study shows more than half (58%) of people experiencing homelessness are men. About 13% of homeless individuals in West Virginia identified as Black or African American, which is higher than the 3.7% of the total state population that identifies as Black or African American.

Nearly half (48%) of those experiencing homelessness were between the ages of 25 to 44, which Christina Mullins, Deputy Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders at DoHS, said is fairly younger.

“It also kind of aligns with what we see in some our overdose patterns, so we know that folks are going to be a lot more vulnerable in that age group to addiction and potential overdose as well,” Mullins told MetroNews Tuesday.

Mullins said there are complex drivers that are causing homelessness across the state. Mental health and addiction are the main reasons, but some have experienced an accident, the loss of a job, lack of affordable housing, being released from correctional facilities and other situations.

“Some of the folks talked about domestic violence, abusive childhoods, illness or disabilities or a lot of other traumas, but we also know from the study that mental health and substance use disorder were definitely also drivers of people experiencing homelessness,” she said.

The majority of individuals experiencing homelessness were long-term residents of West Virginia. Many cited the availability of services, proximity to family, and personal relationships as reasons for relocating to or within West Virginia. The study found most homeless individuals were located in larger cities near more services.

“Where there are more services, we also tend to have more people in those areas and we do have more people experiencing homelessness clustered in those areas,” Mullins said.

Often times, Mullins said these individuals are unaware of the help they can get.

“We’ve got to look at the gaps,” she said. “Some of the things that we saw are people not knowing how to access services, so we have to do a better job of communicating that and making that easily accessible,” she said.

Mullins said with the results of this study, DoHS and other state agencies are now better equipped to support the homeless population.

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West Virginia

Which NFL Franchise’s History Most Compares to West Virginia Football?

Published

4 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Which NFL Franchise’s History Most Compares to West Virginia Football?

West Virginia is one of the most successful programs in college football history. As a matter of fact, they are the winningest team in college football without a national championship.

Is that a good thing? Well, yes and no.

It shows that the program has consistently won and is at a high enough level to be among the best programs in the country. However, it’s certainly not a label that Mountaineers fans are exactly proud of. The 1988 and 2007 seasons are still burned into the memory bank of WVU fans and getting back to the big dance in this day and age is a tall task.

The Mountaineers entered the 1988 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame with an unblemished record and clobbered many of their opponents on their path to the big game. Unfortunately, star dual-threat quarterback Major Harris injured his shoulder on the third play of the game and wasn’t the same player the rest of the game. The Mountaineers would fall to the Fighting Irish 34-21.

In 2007, well you all Mountaineer fans know the story. But for those who don’t, West Virginia entered the final week of the season ranked second in the country and all they needed to do was beat a 3-8 Pitt team in the Backyard Brawl, at home, to secure a spot in the national championship.

The high-powered WVU offense went stagnant as star quarterback Pat White injured his non-throwing hand early in the game. White didn’t return until late in the fourth quarter and the Panthers were able to hang on to pull off the stunning upset, defeating the Mountaineers 13-9.

That was the last time WVU has been on the doorstep of a national title.

So, which team in the NFL has shared that same level of misery yet has been a consistently winning organization? That would be the Minnesota Vikings.

They have the best winning percentage of any team in the NFL who have yet to win a Super Bowl. Only the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs have a better winning percentage, but they all have Lombardi Trophies.

Now, technically, the Detroit Lions have the most wins of any NFL team without a Super Bowl win, but they have a winning percentage of .455, so it’s not exactly an accurate representation of the success West Virginia has had at the collegiate level.

West Virginia

Cover WV aims to empower West Virginians with insurance knowledge

Published

12 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Cover WV aims to empower West Virginians with insurance knowledge

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Dozens of locations across West Virginia participated in the second annual Cover WV Day on Thursday, where more than 20 organizations offered free assistance to those who need health insurance or feel they are underinsured.

According to Cover WV’s website, more than 100,000 West Virginians lack health coverage, so this event aimed to bridge the gap and answer questions. Community Care Bridgeport Case Manager Zach Morehead said that uninsured people is something that he and his team “encounter pretty regularly.”

“As we all know it can be very confusing so we’re happy to walk you through it step by step, you know, really, take the gloves off and explain everything to you as much or as little as you need,” Morehead said.

Even if you were not able to get to the locations on Thursday, places like Community Care will still be able to help you out virtually or in person until Jan. 15. Morehead recommended coming in earlier rather than later.

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West Virginia

Akron CB Golden-Nelson commits to West Virginia

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Akron CB Golden-Nelson commits to West Virginia

West Virginia continues to remake the defensive backfield, and the coaching staff took another step there with a commitment from Akron transfer cornerback Devonte Golden-Nelson.

Golden-Nelson, 5-foot-10, 180-pounds, started his career at Memphis where he spent two seasons and appeared in four games prior to entering his name into the transfer portal and ending up at Akron.

Nelson confirmed the commitment to WVSports.com

During his time with the Zips, Golden-Nelson appeared in 29 games over the past three seasons where he has recorded 66 tackles, 10 passes defended and a pair of interceptions.

In 2024, Golden-Nelson recorded 33 tackles, and 7 passes defended.

Golden-Nelson entered the transfer portal Dec. 17 and received an offer from West Virginia Jan. 3 from new cornerbacks coach Rod West. He also was offered by Oklahoma State, Houston and UNLV.

The Memphis native has played 1,060 snaps during his time at Akron including 613 this past season where he graded out at 66.2 according to Pro Football Focus. He allowed only two touchdowns in his career.

Golden-Nelson took an official visit to West Virginia Jan. 7 and that was enough to close his recruitment giving the Mountaineers another piece in the defensive secondary.

Golden-Nelson has one year of eligibility remaining.

WVSports.com will have more with Golden-Nelson.

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