By Lori Kersey, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would require the Bureau for Behavioral Health to study the state’s homeless population and report the findings to lawmakers for consideration of legislation.
With no discussion, senators unanimously passed the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee’s substitute for Senate Bill 239, which would require the bureau to work with behavioral health and substance use disorder providers, along with municipal and county governments to study “a breakdown of homeless demographic information throughout West Virginia.”
The report would be presented to the Senate president, the House speaker and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance on or before July 1, 2024.
The study would include: The quantifying and inventorying of homelessness resources by region, an analysis of whether West Virginia’s homeless populations concentrate in certain counties or municipalities and any reasons for such population concentrations; determining if state policies cause the homeless population to relocate to certain counties or municipalities; and an analysis of whether any health and human service benefits offered in West Virginia attract populations that are homeless or at risk of homelessness…
