by Rachel Urbanski | July 6, 2021

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — Charleston City Council met Monday night and voted to approve a master plan that seeks to improve the lives of people who live and work on Charleston’s West Side.

Charleston Neighborhood Planner John Butterworth said this plan is a little different than other plans in the sense it involves improving the entire West Side, and the outcome revolves heavily on participation from the community.

“We know many things: People need jobs, better access to food, better housing and they need to be able to afford housing they have,” Butterworth said. “We know those are things that will probably come up, but we need to hear it from the people. We need to know what are the struggles they are trying to overcome every day.”

Steve Kawash of the McGee Foundation spearheaded the plan. The foundation, a charity based in Charleston, has committed $250,000 for the creation of the master plan. The donations were made last year to The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation to fund the work for the city.

Moving forward with the plan isn’t just business for Kawash, it’s personal. He said he grew up on the West Side, and the foundation is in this for the long haul.

“We are taking an embedded philanthropy approach to have community leaders tell us what the issues are, and we are going to work with organizations that are on the West Side,” Kawash said. “We are going to talk to a lot of residents. This is going to be community driven.”

With the authorization from city council, work will begin this summer.