Overview
As a result of the Hodge Decree, the Homeless Program was implemented in West Virginia by the Department of Health and Human Resources in the late 1980's. The Hodge Degree requires the provision of certain basic services for individuals and families who are homeless. These include emergency shelter, food and medical care. From the beginning, however, the Department of Health and Human Resources has desired to go beyond these basic needs to address the underlying causes of the homeless situation. In doing so, DHHR has entered into contractual arrangements with eleven agencies throughout West Virginia. These agencies provide case management as a critical service in addition to meeting the essential needs for emergency shelter, food and medical care.
Most homeless individuals and families in West Virginia are served by one of these agencies. In certain unique circumstances, a shelter setting may not be appropriate or able to meet the individual's need for emergency shelter. In these unique situations, the Department of Health and Human Resources can make payment for alternate shelter arrangements. These special arrangements are short-term and payment is made to a landlord at a rate established by DHHR.
It is essential that the basic needs of the homeless be addressed before resolution of underlying causes can be achieved therefore, agencies under contract to provide Homeless Services are required to provide emergency shelter, food and medical care as called for in the Hodge Decree. In addition to these basic services however, Homeless Shelter Providers are also required to provide case management. Most shelters exceed these minimum requirements and provide/arrange for a wide array of supportive services such as parenting education, GED preparation, child care, substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, transportation, etc.
The homeless individual(s) are required to work in partnership with the case manager to develop and implement a plan that is designed to eliminate the causes of homelessness. Though most individuals and families are able to move from the shelter setting to their own housing fairly quickly, Homeless Services may be provided for up to six months when this is needed in order to achieve stability and arrange appropriate housing and supports in the community. To learn more about Homeless Services, call the Department of Health and Human Resources office in your county.
