(Photo by Amber Phipps) More than 140 people attended a town hall on homelessness Tuesday in Parkersburg City Council chambers.

PARKERSBURG — So many people attended a town hall Tuesday focusing on homelessness that it moved from a large conference room to Parkersburg City Council chambers.

The event was organized by Parkersburg City Council members Zak Huffman and Wendy Tuck, who said after the meeting that more than 140 people attended

The panel included a range of local experts who either came out of addiction and homelessness themselves or are working in organizations to get individuals the help and resources they need.

“My biggest goal with the Mission is for us to help break the cycle of homelessness, and it’s not just putting them in an apartment or getting them off the street. That’s where you start,” said Natasha Robertson, the shelter manager and assistant director at Latrobe Street Mission.

Also on the panel was Moon King, a West Virginia University student who spends his free-time working as a street missionary.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Attendees sign in for a town hall on homelessness in the executive conference room at the Parkersburg Municipal Building. The number of people who came caused the meeting to shift to council chambers.

“In our communities, when we see someone who doesn’t look like us, act like us or live like us, we often can react in negative ways out of fear,” said King. “The true measure of an advanced society is found in how it treats its most vulnerable.”

Other panelists were recovery ministry director at The Gathering church Aaron Hammond and Pastor Melody Smith, Lt. Anthony Rowe with the Salvation Army of Parkersburg, Shane Modesitt with Clean and Clear Advantage Recovery, Tim Baer from Westbrook Health Services, Daulton DuVall with Westbrook’s Connections initiative and Dawn Werry and Beth Little from the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness.

“The size of this room is evidence that this community isn’t lacking any compassion,” said Baer.

“We all want to come together with a unified front to overcome the barriers and obstacles that we each face,” Werry said.

According to a survey done by the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, there are more than 200 homeless individuals in Wood County. But members on the panel noted the area only has 40-60 available shelter beds, which are almost always full.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Parkersburg City Councilwoman Wendy Tuck speaks during a town hall on homelessness that she organized with Councilman Zak Huffman Tuesday in council chambers.

Housing, job security, mental and physical health and safety were the topics of discussion amongst the audience. Community members wanted to talk about providing people with help and getting them back on their feet in society.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Pastor Melody Smith with The Gathering church, second from left, answers questions regarding concerns for the homeless and their access to available resources during a town hall meeting Tuesday in Parkersburg City Council chambers.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) The town hall meeting on homelessness Tuesday in Parkersburg City Council chambers had a question-and-answer format with facilitators and moderators present to maintain the flow of the meeting.