West Virginia has the fifth-highest poverty rate in the country, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report. In fact, a third of all West Virginians live in areas where at least 20 percent of their neighbors fall below the poverty line.

So where do they go to turn for shelter and safety?

In Morgantown, the Bartlett House provides shelter for 35 to 40 people. The Bartlett house has been at capacity for the last 12 months. This is their option as far as a homeless shelter and housing is concerned. There's not another homeless shelter in our county.

With the rest of the homeless looking for somewhere to live, one resident says that some are looking for shelter in all the wrong places.

Don Corwin, a property owner in Morgantown, says, "I've chased several out of what used to be our laundry mat here and they sit in here one morning when I came in and had all their bottles sitting up on the table having a grand ole party."

Corwin says that because of the number of homeless people trying to sleep at the laundry on Beechhurst the city decided to close it down. Other residents bought pad locks to put on their businesses to ensure that the same situation doesn't happen again.

Now it's not quite clear what the city of Morgantown plans to do to eleviate the number of homeless people on the streets or in that case if anything can be done to solve this growing problem.

The issue of homeless people finding refuge in local businesses had been addressed and will be discussed among city council members.

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