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Ashlie Howard 5/20/26 Ashlie Howard 5/20/26

Actually Ashlie: Actually, Fun Doesn’t Have to Lead to Regret

For a long time, I thought fun and substances were basically the same thing. Not exactly—but close enough that I didn’t question it.

Celebrations meant using. Stress meant using. Boredom meant using. Even happiness somehow circled back to it. I told myself I was having fun. And sometimes, even in the moment, it felt that way. But the part I didn’t talk about—the part that mattered more—was what came the next morning

Kate Marshall 5/15/26 Kate Marshall 5/15/26

Director’s Desk: Issue 7

There are two notable references to the mustard seed in New Testament scripture that feel relevant to this Street paper and the world right now. One passage, which uses a metaphor for Heaven (Matthew 13:31-32), describes a farmer who plants the smallest of seeds, and yet it grows into a big tree that holds all the birds of the air. The other reference states that faith, even the size of a mustard seed, can move mountains and accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Niamh Coomey 5/15/26 Niamh Coomey 5/15/26

Editor’s Desk: Issue 7

Dear reader,

After a two-year hiatus, I am SO excited to say that Mustard Seed Mountain, West Virginia’s first Street Paper, is back!

My name is Niamh Coomey and I ended up in Wheeling a year and some odd months ago through a series of pretty random circumstances and decisions – just as any of us end up anywhere, I suppose.

Staff 5/11/26 Staff 5/11/26

Join Us for Our Relaunch Event!

Come party to support the relaunch of West Virginia's first street paper, Mustard Seed Mountain!

Join us at the Urban Collective on Friday, May 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for a night of live music from Stone Campus, Mocktails from Midge's Kitchen, exclusive merch offerings, readings from our spring issue and other activities!

Staff 4/24/26 Staff 4/24/26

Mustard Seed Mountain is now accepting submissions!

Welcome to Mustard Seed Mountain’s website! My name is Niamh Coomey and I am the new editor of the Wheeling, West Virginia street newspaper working to destigmatize homelessness one story at a time. After a two-year hiatus, me and a team of awesome volunteers and nonprofit workers with the Mother Jones Center for Resilient Community are working on bringing regular editions of the paper back into publication.

Staff 10/15/24 Staff 10/15/24

“From the jailhouse to the White House”

The White House Historical Association recently opened a new, cutting-edge education experience in Washington, D.C., a first-of-its-kind, immersive center telling the story of the Executive Mansion, its inhabitants, and the people who have dedicated their careers to its functions.

Douglas Harding 10/11/24 Douglas Harding 10/11/24

Community leaders advocate for expanding public transportation

“Like in most cities, transportation is part of the heart of our city."

Douglas Harding 10/7/24 Douglas Harding 10/7/24

Morgantown City Councilor Brian Butcher: Housing is a human right

We must be constantly telling the stories of those we love and are in community with to advance everyone's understanding of this problem as one that the community must bear—and not a failing of any particular individual.

Ashlie Howard 3/18/24 Ashlie Howard 3/18/24

A Learning Experience

“I started to learn that my addiction was just a symptom of a much deeper problem. I didn’t realize how sick I was until I finally got away from all of the sickness—and I would have never gotten away from all of the sickness on my own.”

Douglas Harding 3/18/24 Douglas Harding 3/18/24

Vendor Spotlight : Timothy Harriman

Timothy Harriman is the kind of person I can listen to for hours, giving full attention—in fact, I have. But storytelling is only one of Timothy’s many talents and passions.

Staff 3/18/24 Staff 3/18/24

Mountain Movers: Q&A with Rod Lee

If you don’t involve yourself with poor people, with people of color—if you live in that secluded subculture that doesn’t interact with these other cultures—then you just don’t understand.

Ashlie Howard 3/18/24 Ashlie Howard 3/18/24

Toxic Stress Response

In the early 2000s, the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child coined the term “toxic stress,” explaining how ACEs trigger biological reactions from the excessive activation of stress response systems on a child’s developing brain, as well as the immune system, metabolic regulatory systems, and the cardiovascular system. Toxic stress from ongoing, high doses of adversity can become embedded in a person’s traits and behaviors.

Ashlie Howard 3/18/24 Ashlie Howard 3/18/24

ACEs High

In the mid-1990s, there was a landmark study conducted by the Center for Disease Control that revealed that 12.5% of individuals who experienced four or more ACEs before their 18th birthday had a 390% increased risk of COPD, a 240% increased risk of hepatitis, a 460% increased risk of depression, and a shocking 1,220% increased risk of suicide.

Amanda Cummins 3/15/24 Amanda Cummins 3/15/24

Understanding the Importance of Social Determinants of Health

A short account of how I continue to learn about health disparities and strive for better practice.

Staff 3/15/24 Staff 3/15/24

Street Stickies: What is love?

Although we love a good book, sometimes, a short message is what we need. Language is magic in the sense that just a few words or sentences can move us. Each issue, we pose a different question to our community and ask for answers written on sticky notes. These words of wisdom can be seen strewn throughout the paper!

Justice Hudson 3/15/24 Justice Hudson 3/15/24

UNFRIENDLY CITY: How Wheeling became WV’s capital of criminalizing homelessness

As dawn broke over the city of Wheeling on Thursday, January 18, on the heels of a statewide emergency declaration related to a massive winter storm, city officials mobilized dump trucks and bulldozers to a hillside in the neighborhood of East Wheeling.

Douglas Harding 10/13/23 Douglas Harding 10/13/23

Editor’s Desk: Homeless criminalization is ‘blatantly cruel,’ ‘accomplishes nothing’

Put simply, the city’s shutting down of the East Wheeling encampment and its forced evictions of dozens of residents who were not provided with any practical alternatives has been wholly unnecessary, senselessly destructive and totally unjustifiable.

Gabrielle Marshall 12/14/22 Gabrielle Marshall 12/14/22

My Neighborhood is Not for Sale

Douglas Harding 12/14/22 Douglas Harding 12/14/22

Editor’s Desk: Issue 5

Ella Jennings 12/14/22 Ella Jennings 12/14/22

Editor’s Desk: Issue 5