Tom Sealey, a member of Highlawn Church of Christ, describes problems the church has had vandalism since the number of unhoused people in the neighborhood has increased, photographed Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.
Highlawn resident David Jones holds up a makeup bag painted with expletives left at a former encampment ont the Ohio River bank near McClelland Park, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
A bag of personal belongings and a sleeping bag sit behind a vandalized property owned by Highlawn Church of Christ, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
A handmade sign warning trespassers faces 27th Street at a vandalized property owned by Highlawn Church of Christ, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Highlawn resident David Jones points to a tree where he says he took down a warning sign discouraging people from entering a former encampment over the Ohio River bank from McClelland Park, photographed Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.
Litter scattered across the Ohio riverbank at a former encampment just outside of the McClelland Park border, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Litter scattered across the Ohio riverbank at a former encampment just outside of the McClelland Park border, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Sunlight beams on a stuffed unicorn resting amid the other littered belongings at a former encampment along the Ohio River bank near McClelland Park, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
A suitcase litters the ground amongst the other garbage at a former encampment on the Ohio River banknear McClelland Park, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
A shopping cart sits submerged in the water along the Ohio River bank near McClelland Park, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Ryan Fischer | The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON Ƶ Highlawn resident Tom Sealey has learned in the past several months that the neighborhood he has lived in since he was 7 is not the same place it once was.
Sealey no longer feels safe leaving his door unlocked and immediately has to unload tools and scraps clients give him from his work in heating and air.
Tom Sealey, a member of Highlawn Church of Christ, describes problems the church has had vandalism since the number of unhoused people in the neighborhood has increased, photographed Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.
JIM ROSS | The Herald-Dispatch
ƵIƵve had $2,000 to $3,000 worth of vandalism and theft ... thatƵs just this year,Ƶ Sealey said.
In early May, after a long day of working underneath a house, Sealey took a shower as soon as he got home. In the 10-20 minutes it took him to shower, he said, someone stole a $500-$600 pipe threader from his truck. That was only one of several items or scrap that was stolen, he said.
A lawn mower sits parked at the edge of the water near McClelland Park, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Ryan Fischer | The Herald-Dispatch
Neighborhood residents say lawn mowers, pressure washers and other items have been stolen since the number of homeless people in the neighborhood has increased. They point specifically to a camp along the Ohio River bank that is accessed from McClelland Park, although residents say there are other pockets of transient people who are unhoused in their neighborhood.
Neighborhood residents said they plan to attend the Sept. 23 meeting of Huntington City Council and ask city officials for help.
A handmade sign warning trespassers faces 27th Street at a vandalized property owned by Highlawn Church of Christ, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Ryan Fischer | The Herald-Dispatch
Crime concerns
Judy Taylor and her husband, Greg Miller, said the first set of campers they saw set up at the end of June. While the couple have only seen smoke coming from the camp once early in the morning, there are no lights at night. Taylor says she can see the riverbank camp from her home and has only heard one argument that escalated into a screaming match.
Miller also recalls hearing noises in the night.
ƵI heard once what sounded like a firecracker,Ƶ Miller said. ƵIn a drought, I worry about a possible fire right up the bank to our house and business (Airbnb).Ƶ
While vandalism and theft in the neighborhood have been going on for the last two years, Sealey, Taylor and other Highlawn residents told The Herald-Dispatch on Monday that it has only gotten worse since May. It is unknown if the uptick in theft and vandalism correlates to the encampment, but residents say it has not helped matters.
Highlawn Neighborhood Ƶsociation President Linda Blough said misconduct that now infiltrates the neighborhood has seeped into McClelland Park, the neighborhood park with tennis courts, shelters, a playground and a walking path.
Blough said she has received a call recently from a parent who saw a person using drugs openly in the park while his child was playing. The resident retrieved his son right away, but the child was in hysterics to leave the park earlier than expected.
ƵWhat do you say to a 3-year-old, why they canƵt go to the park because somebody is using drugs within their eyesight?Ƶ Blough said. ƵI just got so mad.Ƶ
Judy Elkins, who has lived in the neighborhood more than 40 years, said itƵs a scene several other parents and children have encountered at the park, along with people bathing at the drinking fountain and performing intimate acts in public.
A bag of personal belongings and a sleeping bag sit behind a vandalized property owned by Highlawn Church of Christ, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Interior of a vandalized property owned by Highlawn Church of Christ, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Ryan Fischer | The Herald-Dispatch
Sealey said Highlawn Church of Christ, at 27th Street and Latulle Avenue, has also been no stranger to issues that have plagued the neighborhood. Sealey and his family have attended the church since they moved to the neighborhood about 45 years ago. He helps with the upkeep of the church, along with several other residents. However, with constant break-ins, Sealey believes itƵs time to sell the church.
ƵWe just donƵt have enough money to keep fixing it and fixing it,Ƶ Sealey said. ƵƵ soon as we fix something, they tear it up twice as much, so we are just going to have to sell it. ItƵs sad. ItƵs the church I grew up in.Ƶ
Sealey said the ever-growing crime in the neighborhood is something that residents have dealt with for the past two to three years, but it has intensified in the past several months. But Elkins believes itƵs intensified in the past year.
ƵIt was not good before that at times, but nothing continuous,Ƶ Elkins said. ƵIt started getting worse in the last two years, and the last year IƵve seen more.Ƶ
Sealey has filed six police reports since January and has provided video evidence to detectives.
The Huntington Police Department recently checked out the neighborhood and went down to the encampment and ticketed the campers, Elkins said. The visit from HPD has evacuated the camp for now, Elkins said. Left at the camp were clothes and other items scattered along the camp.
Also left behind was a purse hanging in the tree embellished with ƵDie (obscenity) offƵ in nail polish.
Highlawn resident David Jones holds up a makeup bag painted with expletives left at a former encampment ont the Ohio River bank near McClelland Park, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Highlawn resident David Jones points to a tree where he says he took down a warning sign discouraging people from entering a former encampment over the Ohio River bank from McClelland Park, photographed Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.
Jim Ross | The Herald-Dispatch
Ƶ of Monday, at least two tents had returned to the site, but just beyond where the former camp was, and two adults were seen at the new camp.
ƵI live by myself,Ƶ Elkins said. ƵSometimes IƵm by myself there. I have my porch door locked. I have my storm door locked. I have my big door locked. Same thing on the back. I donƵt want to get hurt. IƵm too old to take that. IƵm 80 years old. I donƵt need it. IƵm not going to take it.Ƶ
Huntington has an ordinance prohibiting people from camping, occupying camp facilities for purpose of habitation, or using camp paraphernalia at any park, any street, alley, sidewalk, easement and or/right of way; or any creek bed, riverfront property or beneath bridge abutments.
City of Huntington response
Bryan Chambers, communications director for the City of Huntington, in a written response to The Herald-Dispatch on Thursday, said city officials are aware of the concerns that have been expressed by Highlawn residents.
The Huntington Police Department has dispatched its Crisis Intervention Team, which consists of police officers and mental health professionals, to the neighborhood to offer housing, mental health and substance use disorder treatment resources to any unsheltered individuals that the team encounters, he said. The team will continue to monitor the neighborhood.
City officials also are communicating with representatives of the Highlawn Neighborhood Ƶsociation to identify specific issues or areas that may need addressed.
ƵWe seek and expect compassionate accountability,Ƶ Chambers said. ƵWe always strive to strike a balance between the demands of citizens and business owners for a safe, vibrant city and the needs of the unsheltered population for the provision of dignified living conditions, all the while having an ultimate goal of eliminating homelessness.Ƶ
Huntington City Council adopted its public camping ordinance in January 2014, Chambers said.
ƵIt has been well-documented that Mayor Steve WilliamsƵ administration expects that whenever the City has been made aware of a homeless encampment, it coordinates with service providers to first offer unsheltered individuals at the encampment housing, mental health and substance use disorder treatment services,Ƶ he said.
Chambers said unsheltered individuals are notified when an encampment is about to be dismantled. Unhoused individuals are given a one-week notice. Chambers said the two goals of this approach are to preserve public safety and to offer unsheltered individuals pathways to housing and wrap-around services instead of being exposed to unsanitary living conditions that can exist in an encampment.
ƵWhile homelessness is not a crime, those who engage in criminal activity will be arrested,Ƶ Chambers said. ƵOur approach of compassionate accountability encompasses the following Ƶ do what we can to provide services and resources to those who are marginalized while holding them accountable to follow the expectations set forth within the community.Ƶ
Litter scattered across the Ohio riverbank at a former encampment just outside of the McClelland Park border, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Litter scattered across the Ohio riverbank at a former encampment just outside of the McClelland Park border, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
Ryan Fischer | The Herald-Dispatch
Trends
Mitch Webb, executive director of the Huntington City Mission, said in a written statement Thursday that the City Mission has seen a gradual increase of people experiencing homelessness for a few years now.
Webb said an increase in unsheltered people used to be a cold-weather issue. In the past several years, it has became a year-round issue, he said.
ƵJust remember that these are people,Ƶ Webb said. ƵPeople going through the most vulnerable time of their lives. They do the things they do for a reason and itƵs not always just because they are rebellious.Ƶ
Homelessness in Huntington has evolved significantly, Chambers said.
ƵHistorically, it was mainly associated with men struggling with alcoholism. However, recent data and surveys reveal that many individuals now face complex challenges such as substance use disorder and mental health issues,Ƶ Chambers said.
ƵThis shift means that addressing homelessness today requires comprehensive support services. By providing these Ƶwrap-aroundƵ services, we aim to better assist individuals once they are housed and help prevent property damage and other related issues,Ƶ Chambers added.
The mission opened its behavioral health unit ƵAnchor of HopeƵ in June 2023. The mission currently uses its chapel as a low-barrier shelter for unsheltered individuals who, for whatever reason, will not utilize the missionƵs night shelter. The mission will build a separate low-barrier shelter that will be located behind the chapel.
ƵOur new building will have office space for partners like Marshall Health, Valley Health and Prestera to come onsite and see to the needs of this community, whether they are emotional, physical, or spiritual needs,Ƶ Webb said.
HuntingtonƵs day shelter Harmony House is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The city is actively collaborating with partners to offer wrap-around services for individuals experiencing homelessness, Chambers said. The partnership between the city and wrap-around services hopes to provide the comprehensive support needed to effectively house and assist people experiencing homelessness, addressing their unique challenges and helping to ensure long-term stability, he said.
Sunlight beams on a stuffed unicorn resting amid the other littered belongings at a former encampment along the Ohio River bank near McClelland Park, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
A suitcase litters the ground amongst the other garbage at a former encampment on the Ohio River banknear McClelland Park, photographed on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Huntington.
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