WV American Legion hosts 107th annual convention in Huntington

Veteran and American Legion member and Huntington Mayor Patrick Farrell spoke at the event, telling members he made a pledge during his inauguration to make veteran homelessness in the city non-existent as soon as possible.

“I’d like you to watch," Ferrell said. "Watch what we’re doing here in Huntington, and if you come back here next year for the convention, we’re going to tell you … I’m going to tell you that we got zero veteran homelessness in Huntington, and that we did it through a partnership with the VA, partnership with our social services organizations throughout the city, our police department, the health care facilities."

Farrell said veterans should have access to the health care they need.

When asked for details, City Communications Director Evan Lee said in an email to HD Media the rollout of the city’s plan is coming soon.

A 2024 point-in-time Count conducted through the Cabell-Huntington Wayne Continuum of Care included a census of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people during a single night in January that counted 21 veterans altogether experiencing homelessness in Cabell and Wayne counties. Of those confirmed as experiencing chronic homelessness, three were veterans.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey also spoke at Friday's event, sharing updates in federal VA funding, including more than $4.97 billion given to West Virginia in 2024 for a variety of uses. Morrisey said he signed a Troops to Teachers bill in May to help veterans become certified teachers.

'Break the [stigma of] mental health'

Other speakers encouraged members to seek help in ensuring they receive their full benefits or discussed ways the local chapter or VA could help them.

According to American Legion West Virginia State Commander Jeff Wisley, the organization speaks to Congress every year in support of veterans, hosts programs like Mountaineer Boys State for youth and hosts a scholarship speech competition.

This weekend, he said, members picked officers for next year, had several leadership meetings, voted on in-organization competitions and shared reports.

By Friday morning, members had not yet voted on the new officers, but he said the most significant issues they’ll likely have to respond to coming up are veteran mental health and homelessness.

“What we’re trying to do is break the [stigma of] mental health. Veterans who are in crisis, we used to have the belief that if we said, ‘Hey, are you going to hurt yourself?’ You don’t want to ask that questions because you’re going to put that thought in their mind,� Wisley said.

“But now, we engage with them. … We let them know that it’s OK not to be OK.�

Wisley said of Farrell’s plan to end veteran homelessness in the city, “I hope that’s true.�

Wisley said not only is the American Legion the largest veterans service organization, but it was also expanded to include all veterans, not just those who served during a period of war.

“We thought we’d get a big influx of new members, and we really haven’t. So the American Legion just really needs to get the word out about that kind of stuff,� he said.

At present, the American Legion has nearly 2 million members spread across 13,000 posts worldwide.