West Virginia's growing Eastern Panhandle is becoming too expensive for its poorest residents [View all]

When it comes to housing in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, Maggie Garrido-Cortes has seen the issue from multiple angles. As a former 211 operator tasked with helping callers find public health and community resources, she took calls for assistance, connecting people in need to service providers.

Now, Garrido-Cortes is one of those very providers. She currently works as a housing program coordinator for Telamon, a Martinsburg-based community action organization that helps provide financial assistance and counseling and takes client referrals from state and city officials, and local nonprofits.

Her voice perks up when she talks about the organization’s successes — like educating first-time homebuyers and helping veterans transition from homelessness to permanent housing. But right now, more people need help than Garrido-Cortes’ team can handle.

“We have people sleeping in their vehicles, the motels around town are full of families,” she said. “You go in the morning and you’ll see the school bus pulling up to pick up children living there. It’s almost at crisis level.”

Read more: https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2023/11/21/affordable-housing-wv-eastern-panhandle-martinsburg/