Full Article by Lori Kersey | West Virginia Watch
Charleston City Council is facing a pivotal vote: whether to support a syringe service program at the Women’s Health Center on the West Side. The resolution, backed by five council members including Frank Annie and Chelsea Steelhammer, aims to address the region’s rising rates of HIV and hepatitis C with CDC-supported harm reduction strategies.
“This is something that Charleston needs,” said Councilmember Steelhammer, pointing to Kanawha County’s 620 chronic hepatitis C diagnoses in 2021. Councilmember Mary Beth Hoover added, “They’re doing everything we asked any needle exchange in the city to do… To me — my vote will be yes.”
But the debate remains heated. Councilmember Jeanine Faegre, whose ward includes the clinic’s proposed location, warned, “We are against you handing a needle to someone that’s going to put it in their arm.”
Councilmember Joe Solomon offered a broader reflection:
“Some people are staying in denial… They’re saying, ‘We don’t want to bring people who use drugs into our neighborhood.’ And that’s a form of denial since every single ward in the city has folks who use drugs there.”
Joe Solomon, City Councilmember At-Large
The proposal meets all of Charleston’s legal requirements — including a 90% syringe return rate — yet the decision has become a referendum on stigma, science, and neighborhood fear.
