Activists in Charleston called on Mayor Amy Goodwin to declare a public health emergency. Some health providers and church leaders say the city needs to better address a cluster of HIV cases as well as the rise in opioid overdose deaths.
At the city’s riverfront park, Magic Island, kids laughed and screamed as they ran through fountains on Saturday. So called “river rats” took their motorboats out on the Kanawha River.
They were all trying to beat the heat. So were a few hundred adults, who gathered at the park’s lawn near Charleston’s West Side, where there were tents offering shade and plenty of bottled water to go around.
The folks here know how to come to the aid of their neighbors. The group was made up of health care workers, peer recovery coaches, faith leaders and parents.
by June Leffler | WV Public Broadcasting
