Grace Shelter director outlines reduced wait times and a shortfall for winter shelter funding

Mindy Thorn, director of Catholic Charities’ Grace Shelter, told Morgantown City Council on July 21 that the 19-bed low-barrier emergency shelter is operating at or near capacity and has tightened its average turnaround time from more than six months to under four months. “We are a 19 bed emergency shelter…we are consistently full,” Thorn said, describing a housing-first approach that pairs on-site case management within the first 24 hours of admission.

Thorn said the shelter coordinates with HealthRight, Valley Healthcare and WVU Medicine and works closely with the Morgantown transit system to help clients reach employment and services. She said that of the 19 people currently in the shelter, 11 are employed and that, in 2025, Grace served more than 200 clients. Thorn also described a recent winter-shelter partnership that had helped more than 70 additional people; of that group she said, “at the closing of the winter shelter in March, only 5 people returned to the streets out of those 70 plus people that we helped.”

Why it matters: Council members pressed Thorn on day-to-day capacity, referral pathways and funding, and emphasized that even brief shelter stays can stabilize people and improve outcomes. Thorn said referrals come from outreach teams, HealthRight, 2-1-1, mental-health providers and justice-system partners; she estimated about five turn-aways per day when the shelter is full.

On funding, Thorn said the winter shelter line item had been budgeted at $68,000 and that $40,000 is currently committed, leaving an outstanding need of roughly $28,000. She said Grace has applied for Home for Good and other grants, and that a Catholic Charities grant writer and local foundations are pursuing additional support. Thorn noted the shelter also receives small private donations and that the organization is pursuing PRSS certification for staff to increase service capacity.

Councilors and staff raised transportation as a separate operational issue: Thorn said most clients cannot qualify for residential bus passes because they are not permanent residents, that a previous Mountain Line pass commitment ended in June, and that the city continues to operate a program that distributes roughly 2,000 passes per month through libraries, ambassadors and social-service staff.

Next steps: Council members offered to help coordinate grant conversations with Catholic Charities’ wider leadership and to include shelter planning in upcoming social services coordination meetings. An open house at Hazel’s House of Hope was announced in the manager’s report; Thorn and staff indicated they will continue pursuing grants and local foundation support to close the winter-shelter funding gap.