WHEELING — To meet the campsite closure deadline, homeless individuals and volunteers were busy Wednesday afternoon clearing out and cleaning the former campsite on 18th Street across from the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center.

Anything left behind at the former site, owned by the West Virginia Division of Highways, would be thrown away by Catholic Charities employees and volunteers. Volunteers and homeless individuals were also sweeping the area and picking up any trash left behind to have the space completely cleared by the Wednesday afternoon deadline.

At the same time, vans and trucks filled with homeless people’s belongings headed to the new exempted campsite off the maintenance trail along Wheeling Creek.

“April 9 was supposed to be the move-out and cleanup day today, so this lot was supposed to be empty by today,” said Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center Coordinator Derek Lantz on Wednesday morning. “We have to get this site empty of tents by this afternoon, so by then, everybody should be moved out to the trail or the Project HOPE lot.”

The new campsite was originally scheduled to open on April 3, which would coincide with the deadline for closing the 18th Street campsite. Lantz explained that the original deadline was pushed back due to flooding in the area, which was a major setback in preparing the new maintenance trail campsite for opening.

While the top level of the camp was “pretty much saved” from the flooding, according to Lantz, other areas did not fare as well.

“The top level of the camp, which is where the Porta Johns and dumpsters are, just needed a little work done, “ said Lantz. “We just kind of raked that area up, and then I laid some fabric down and put a palette in there to lift (the homeless) off the ground.”

The bottom part of the camp had been flooded and needed some major work done. Lantz explained that he had to level the land of the lower area using a landplane once the Ohio River went below flooding levels.

Once the land had been leveled, volunteers and Catholic Charities employees assisted in clearing out the area of brush and sticks brought by the flood.

“Different people in the community have been pitching in donations to make it look nice out there at the trail and to make this as smooth a transition as possible,” added Lantz. “We even had a cookout at the new site on the first day we began moving people there to make things a little bit easier.”

Community members and local charity groups, including Catholic Charities, Street Moms, UPLIFT West Virginia, and the Mother Jones House, were pitching in on Wednesday to help move the homeless to the new location and clean up the former site.

“The MoJo had a U-haul down here yesterday helping out with the first day of moving,” said Lantz. “We’ve had our CEO (Mark Phillips) helping us down at the maintenance trail.”

The moving process for a homeless person at the former site involved loading their items into a truck or van to be transported to the new location. The homeless individual would also be provided with transportation to the new site.

Once their belongings had been moved to the new location, Catholic Charities and Street Moms helped individuals get set up by designating a space for their items and providing them with a new tarp, tent and palette.

Due to the new campsite being about 1½ miles from the Catholic Charities building, there is a second homeless campsite on private property next to the Project HOPE building for homeless individuals who are handicapped or need medical treatment. Project HOPE Physician Dr. William Mercer and Project HOPE Director Crystal Bauer will provide treatment and assistance for these individuals.

Mandy Dunn, a homeless individual who will stay at the Project HOPE site since she receives treatment from Dr. Mercer, said her moving process had been “pretty smooth.” Dunn had moved her items to the new location three days in advance, as anything she left behind would be thrown out during the clean-up process.

“We can’t leave the lot like this,” said Dunn in reference to the 18th Street site on Wednesday morning, which was still halfway filled with tents, belongings and trash. “Catholic Charities will get fined if we leave anything behind, and they have been the ones who have been here for us and stood up for us. Without Derek, we would be nowhere.”

Dunn added that the 18th Street site was preferable for many homeless individuals to the two new locations. The highway overpass under which the 18th Street camp was located provided protection from inclement weather.

“This is a good spot because you don’t get wet, and it got us through the winter,” noted Dunn. “We can’t be choosers in this situation, though.”

Dunn explained another disadvantage of the new location is that it “would not be easy” for a homeless person to travel from the new site to Catholic Charities and other charitable organizations for meals and assistance every day. Due to the distance from the camp, she noted individuals would have to travel over three miles daily if they wanted to get a meal.

“It wouldn’t be as easy to get back and forth for meals, you can’t pick up a quick breakfast, lunch or dinner anymore,” said Dunn.

The camp’s location is also a hindrance for local organizations in providing outreach at the camp.

“Catholic Charities will do whatever we can to help these guys in any way, but once they’re out at the maintenance trail, that’s supposed to be a city thing,” said Lantz. “We’re just doing the best we can and helping our neighbors.”