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Special needs housing complex future could change in Brooke County

WELLSBURG — The Brooke County Commissioners heard Tuesday from citizens concerned about the future of an apartment complex that is home to 25 residents who are developmentally challenged.

Marie Lauck of Wellsburg and others in an informal group called Community Advocates to Save Shiloh said state officials plan to change the makeup of the apartment complex, citing federal regulations.

Representatives of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, which regulates Shiloh, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Lauck said the federal law is intended to prevent people with disabilities from being segregated from others. But she said officials don’t understand Shiloh is a place where its residents can live almost independently.

Lauck said each apartment has its own bathroom and kitchen and, in addition to providing residents a sense of independence, the complex also has become a closeknit community for them.

“That’s their home. And the other residents at Shiloh are their extended family,” she said.

Frank Ferrari, another member of the group, said initially state officials planned to divide the residents into smaller homes to conform with regulations for state-licensed group homes.

He said the officials have since agreed to allow current residents to remain but want to replace half of the residents, through natural attrition, with non-challenged ones to meet new regulations.

Lauck said the move would affect the safety enjoyed by the residents now.

Ferrari said he is among parents of developmentally challenged citizens on a waiting list to live at Shiloh.

Healthways, which operates the complex with support from a Medicaid waiver program, provides supervision and services to the residents, offering the residents’ parents assurance their children will be cared for when they die, he said.

The group asked the commissioners to support them in efforts to reverse the plans. They said they will hold an open house from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. March 19 to familiarize the public with the apartments and hope state officials will attend also.

The group also plans to circulate postcards petitioning the state not to change Shiloh.

County Commissioner Jim Andreozzi said the commission will support their efforts and knows that state Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Wellsburg; and Del. Phil Diserio, D-Brooke; are aware of the situation.

Libby Reasbeck, a representative of U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-Wheeling, said she will convey their concerns to him also.

In other business, the commission moved to allocate $30,000 to the Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, as it has done in recent years.

Andreozzi noted the economic development agency’s success in bringing businesses to the former Wheeling Corrugating plant and its efforts to rehabilitate the former Follansbee Steel and Brooke Glass sites for future development.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)

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