WV Health Right reaches out during natural gas outage

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - For six days, hundreds of people on Charleston’s West Side have been without natural gas to heat their homes and cook their food.

For Rafael Barker, he said it’s been a frustrating experience.

“You can’t cook your meals,” he said. “You can’t shower in a comfortable environment. You can’t do laundry.”

Despite the challenges, Barker and other volunteers wanted to help their community.

Wednesday night, West Virginia Health Right made sure dozens of families on the West Side could get a hot meal -- with Community Outreach Manager Shayla Lestridge saying they’re just getting started.

“We have a lot of people that don’t have heat, but they also do not have access to hot water, they don’t have gas appliances running, so they’re unable to cook food at their house,” she said.

Lestridge said they’ll be open 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and for lunch Saturday as long as the gas outage lasts.

This is community,” she said. “This is unity. This is what West Virginia is about. This is what Charleston is about.”

Lestridge said they’ll also deliver food to those unable to leave their homes.

You can call 304-200-3704 to schedule a food delivery.

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