Trash might not be what most people think about when recalling COVID-19’s unwelcome arrival in Wheeling. But for Trash Talkers, a project of local non-profit HoH-Share, Inc., it took a pandemic and piles of garbage for them to find their purpose. 

In March 2020, residents of the Ohio Valley were told to shelter in place. For most, it meant staying in their homes and trying to find toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Homeless citizens, however, faced a different plight, left outside in a city of empty streets that felt nearly apocalyptic.

It wasn’t long before COVID-19 exhibited some unexpected symptoms, striking hard within the homeless community. For safety reasons, every social service closed its doors to the public, and all services either went virtual or were made “to go.” As a result, the two meals served per day to the homeless from local soup kitchens were taken back to encampments in disposable containers. Homeless camps did not receive sanitation services, each pre-packaged meal generated garbage that had no place to be disposed. 

Trash in the homeless camps was already an issue prior to COVID-19, but the pandemic had it reaching a new pinnacle. “Before Trash Talkers, they had nowhere to put their trash. The bags they had would get ripped open by critters. Nobody would want their home that way,” said Paula Riethmiller, Trash Talker’s Project Director. 

As with most cities across the nation, Wheeling did not have an immediate plan of what to do with the homeless population during a pandemic. Yet tensions over the garbage at the encampments began to escalate. 

“Our folks experiencing homelessness were already overwhelmed by the pandemic and feeling isolated outside. When negative pictures of their camps started making news, for many it was just too much. Despair and depression was rampant,” said Kate Marshall, HoH-Share, Inc.’s Executive Director. 

When homeless camps were threatened with removal by the city, HoH-Share, Inc. invited both housed and unhoused to an outdoor camp council meeting. As a crowd gathered under the highway overpass on 18th Street, many lamented that upset local residents didn’t understand that there were no trash services to those “sheltering in place” in tents. 

“They talked about what would happen if housed people didn’t have trash service, or if a person had to carry their trash a mile or more just to throw it away,” recalled Kate. Others focused on a solution and suggested if they only had a truck, they could create a trash pick-up service for the homeless camps.

Paula Riethmiller, a new HoH-Share, Inc. volunteer, was moved by the conversation. “I said to myself, ‘God, I know you can even use trash to make a difference, so let’s do it!’” She offered her truck to the group, and with that, Paula became the crew leader, den mother, referee, sister, and friend to an unexpected band of volunteers.

The group quickly decided what supplies were needed to get to work. HoH-Share, Inc. purchased gloves, bags, shovels, and rakes for the crew.

“When we first started the program we went to Tent City. We walked around through it all, passing out bags. I introduced myself to everyone, asked them to please leave filled up bags by the gate, and we would pick them up on Fridays. They were thrilled. They asked if there was a limit. I said, ‘no.’ They wanted their homes clean,” Paula said. 

“That is how we got our name. We were out talking about trash to our friends.” 

Soon, they gave themselves a mantra to lead their days: don’t just talk about it, be about it. The group contacted the City of Wheeling and were commended by the Assistant City Manager, William Lanham.

Together, they were able to come up with a plan of where the trash from the camps could be disposed of. He also offered to hire two of the Trash Talkers for a job with City Operations. The group began to realize they could use their volunteerism as a reference for jobs and housing. 

HoH-Share, Inc. worked with an anonymous donor who purchased the Trash Talkers their own truck. They supplied "Thank You Incentives" such as gift certificates to nearby stores, prepaid phones and phone minutes, online credit for special work boots or camp equipment, and so forth. While no cash is given out, incentives for volunteers can go toward helping with small fines that might prevent someone from obtaining work or housing. 

“I have trash service at my home. You have trash service at your home. What we do is not enabling, it is simply a service provided to them that they pay for in different ways,” Paula said.

The crew soon found that it wasn’t just homeless camps that needed cleaning. Very often, trash they found was not left by the homeless at all. So with a good show of volunteers from the homeless community and camp clean-ups going well, they added general community clean-ups to their services. As they worked cleaning creek banks and waterways, they recognized it was time to further formalize the growing program. The group began looking for ways to recycle materials they cleaned up, environmentalism and entrepreneurship working hand in hand.

“We are out cleaning up the creek banks and our community. This is not all from homeless folks either, but also from people dumping. But, we pick it up anyway. We have scrapped over 75,000 lbs. of metal, keeping it out of the landfill,” Paula said. 

While the trash service and community clean-ups continue, Trash Talkers are focusing on changing negative stereotypes of the homeless by expanding their work, offering services like odd jobs, garage cleanouts, yard work for a donation plus disposal fees to both home and business owners. “We are needed in this community because we are action-based. We don’t just talk about things needing to be done. We go out and do it. We started as a trash service for the homeless camps. Our visibility and actions allowed people to ask if we could help in other ways. So, of course, we did. And many community members who call us are pleased with our work and don’t even realize some of our crew are homeless or formerly homeless,” Paula said.

Trash Talkers finds ways for folks of all abilities to help. Some may only have the mental capacity or physical ability to work for an hour or two, while others volunteer six days a week. Each person contributes something from their own skill set, problem solving as a team when needed, each stepping up to take the lead based on their skills. Being part of a crew that believes in each other is important to us.

“I feel Trash Talkers makes people, including myself, feel like family. We get in our ‘office’ AKA our truck, together everyday. We joke, we laugh, we yell, sometimes we fight, but I get my whistle and we figure it out...just like brothers and sisters,” Paula said.

“I have struggled in the past, but doing this makes me feel good about myself,” said BB, a dedicated Trash Talker.

Another fellow, JB, agreed: “It helps everyone when they need it, and makes the neighborhood a better, cleaner place.”

According to Kate, a very important factor of Trash Talkers may not be the most obvious one: that what often happens with those finding themselves in homelessness is a lot of waiting–on housing, on paperwork, on a phone call for a job. She believes this waiting period is the most dangerous time for a person experiencing homelessness. Left with nothing but fearful thoughts, many find themselves depressed. Some will use drugs to try to escape the situation. Their body and their spirit get used to doing nothing, so when the phone call finally comes, the person might not be physically and mentally able for the level of stamina needed. Keeping folks moving and engaged is extremely important to their well-being.

The Trash Talkers program began to reveal that it was a way to clean up one’s life. “People not having stuff to do, always bored, getting in trouble, leading to drugs and stuff like that. If you are keeping your mind straight and busy, keeping your thoughts moving, you’re moving,” said Brad C., a Wheeling citizen experiencing homelessness who has volunteered for several months.

Several of the Trash Talkers, like Chad Wayt, have transitioned from homelessness to housing and traditional employment, but continue to volunteer with Trash Talkers. The sense of belonging has given several folks the courage to go into rehab. 

“Three people have chosen to get clean because of working with Trash Talkers. Some just needed one day of feeling successful and needed in the world,” Paula remarked, looking at her daily notes.

Paula Riethmiller continues to take her crew out nearly six days a week. They work hard and then often go out to eat together.

“Do you want a sandwich, or pop, or anything different today?” she asks.

Mike, a Trash Talker born and raised in Wheeling who is currently homeless, responds, smiling. “I’ll take something to eat, definitely!” Unlike a year ago, if their meal has any leftover trash to dispose of, nobody is worried about it. They’ve got this in the bag, so to speak.

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