KEYSER, W.Va. — Inside S&H Variety, a thrift store right off Main Street, Vanessa Broadwater, a longtime Mineral County resident, emerged through the narrow aisle lined with racks of clothes, cabinets of dainty china and packed bookshelves.
As she walked, Broadwater reflected on the loss of the Luke paper mill in nearby Allegany County in 2019. She said the mill was one of the few major and well-paying employers in the county. But even before it closed, many residents in the region relied on finding well-paying jobs out of state.
Keyser, with a population of a little less than 5,000 people, is the county seat of Mineral County.
“There’s just no opportunities,” said Broadwater, a West Virginia native. “There’s just nothing here for the younger kids.”
All but one of her five children stayed in the county. However, Broadwater knows some of her grandchildren are looking forward to leaving.
“The youngest can’t wait to turn 18, so she can get out,” she said.
For many residents across Mineral, Hampshire and Morgan counties, leaving has been their only option to find well-paying jobs. Those who’ve stayed have opted for long commutes to Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., for livable wages.
Mountain State Spotlight visited all three counties this month, asking residents about the biggest challenges their communities face. They frequently spoke about the need for more well-paying jobs and affordable housing. Residents also said they’d like to see increased access to basic services, including broadband and health care.
Across town from the thrift store, on the edge of the quad at WVU Potomac State College, computer science student Josh See lamented that he’ll likely have to move away from West Virginia for work.
“I think my options are pretty limited with staying here,” said See. “If I have to move, I’d have to move. I wouldn’t like it, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it as long as there’s a decently paying job, and I can live comfortably.”
Teacher salaries aren’t competitive
The need for higher wages has affected school systems in all three counties, as schools struggle to find teachers.
In the banquet hall at the Country Inn of Berkeley Springs, members of the Berkeley Springs Rotary Club discussed Morgan County’s inability to retain or hire qualified teachers, largely because they can earn more in neighboring states.
“It’s just a 15-minute drive to Maryland and an hour to Virginia, and that’s where we lose a lot of ours,” said Allison Maconaughey, the current president of the club and a mom of two.
The average teacher salary in West Virginia is about $53K, about 10K less than in Virginia and 27K, less than in Maryland, according to the National Education Association. West Virginia ranks 51st in average teacher salary nationwide.
As a result, students have lost teachers midway through the school year, and teachers who stay often have to work “double duty” or fill in for subjects that they’re not necessarily prepared for, Maconaughey said.
Some residents said it isn’t only work they are seeking outside their counties, but other resources, including recreational activities and health care services.
Beside the Liberty Gas Station off U.S. Route 50 near Romney in Hampshire County, January Dillinger and her daughter, Lilly, carried boxes of produce to a white building with a red roof, awning and door. Inside the Barefoot Farmer produce store, Dillinger, a county native, said the options for kids and younger residents are scarce.
The other night, the county’s youth football program was relegated to practice on the baseball field because it’s the only field with lights. And there aren’t enough gyms in the area to accommodate the number of people wanting to play basketball, Dillinger said.
“I can’t take my kids on a bike ride because there isn’t anywhere safe to do it,” she said.
Because of the few options in the county, the mom of three often travels outside the state to find activities to do with her kids.
“If you want to do something in this area, you almost guarantee that you’re going to travel to Cumberland, or you’re going to travel to Winchester (Virginia) or beyond to be able to do that,” Dillinger said.
Hampshire County native Melanie Chaer also blames the lack of activities for costing the community its younger residents.
“There’s no recreation here for them to do anything,” she said.
Limited resources for mental health, addiction
Aside from recreation, Dillinger said that many people, especially seniors in Hampshire County, travel outside the county for specialty medical services given the limited options. This past summer Dillinger’s mom spent two months in Winchester after being diagnosed with sepsis because of an infection in her hand.
Residents in the three counties spoke about the insufficient number of medical professionals, including general practitioners, therapists and gynecologists. They said they often have a months-long waitlist, prompting people to seek health services elsewhere.
Those in Morgan County often travel to Hagerstown, Winchester or Martinsburg for health care services, Maconaughey said.
And those seeking mental health providers are looking at a “six to eight week wait to get an initial evaluation, if not longer,” said Audrey Morris, director of Morgan County Family Support Center.
Mineral County resident Alante Coleman spoke about how difficult it was to find a mental health counselor when she moved back to the county from South Carolina earlier this year. When Coleman finally found a provider, it was a three-month wait for an appointment. The delay meant she lost her sense of control over her situation.
“I was on (top of) the mental health. I was on the medications. And then I got here,” she said.
Along with an increased need for general medical and mental health services, there’s also a need for more addiction treatment and recovery resources in the counties.
“We need a lot more when it comes to drug rehabilitation. Places for people to go,” said A. Jay Root, administrator for the Mineral County Health Department. He added that the closest treatment center is about an hour and a half away in Morgantown.
Community resource providers in Mineral County also said they want to see investments in programs that prevent addiction and mental health crises, so they aren’t always in triage mode. But because of the limited resources, they often have to wait until situations become urgent. Even then, there’s no guarantee any help will be available.
There’s been several instances of residents in critical condition unable to access services or treatment because of insufficient resources in the community, said Dayla Harvey, executive director of the Mineral County Family Resource Network.
Limited housing options
A few miles away, in downtown Keyser, as Broadwater opens a jewelry display for a customer, she reflects on the available housing in the community.
“The quality of the housing is just horrible. And young people just don’t have any options,” she said. One of her granddaughters just moved out of her new rental apartment because the paint on the walls was peeling, exposing her to old layers of lead-based paint.
Broadwater said the number of available rental units in the county is already slim, and there are even fewer that are safe and affordable. And while the county has income-based housing, it’s not nearly enough to accommodate the number of people who need it.
“Mineral County has options. However, they’re limited,” Harvey said. “The need is greater than what we can provide.”
The income-based housing in Hampshire and Morgan counties is also not enough to meet the needs of the community. And as tourism grows in the region, especially in Morgan County, the available housing is even more scarce as it’s often picked up and turned into AirBnBs or second homes.
Along with the limited supply of housing, affordable options are a growing challenge for residents in Hampshire and Morgan counties as well. As the population has grown and people with higher incomes have moved into the region, the cost of housing has greatly increased and priced out local communities.
Terri Beard, a Morgan resident, thinks it’s sad that the area can’t offer more to reward people who choose to stay. She said it’s discouraging that the state’s teachers go to school, get their degrees and can only afford low income housing.
“Isn’t that a shame,” Beard asked.