by Taylor Sisk with KFF Health News Audio summary posted by Nadia Ramlagan at Public News Service CHARLESTON, W.Va. — More than three years have passed since federal health officials arrived in central Appalachia to assess an alarming outbreak of HIV spread mostly between people who inject opioids or methamphetamine. Read more…
Originally reported by Lori Kersey for the West Virginia Watch More than 30,000 doses of naloxone were distributed across West Virginia during this year’s Save a Life Day on September 26, with volunteers in all 55 counties participating. “We gave out over 15,000 kits. That’s over 30,000 doses—statewide,” said Joe Read more…
by Sierra Marling with the Charleston Gazette-Mail On Charleston’s West Side last week, three local drug prevention organizers sat on the porch of a house, bathed in warm late-summer sunlight. Behind them, two rooms were filled with boxes of stickers, naloxone and other materials for Save a Life Day. They Read more…
Full Article by Lori Kersey | West Virginia Watch Save a Life Day, which began in two West Virginia counties in 2020, will reach at least 32 states and 343 counties this year. The event, led by SOAR WV and dozens of partners, aims to distribute tens of thousands of Read more…
Full Story by Caleb Hellerman | WV Public Broadcasting A new story from West Virginia Public Broadcasting revisits Charleston’s HIV outbreak — once called “the most concerning in the United States” — and highlights the urgent, ongoing work to support people living with HIV. In 2020, SOAR WV organized a Read more…
Full Article by Ashley Perham | Charleston Gazette-Mail Charleston’s third free naloxone vending machine has been set up at the Living AIDS Memorial Garden in the East End. The box, located at the northeast corner of Washington Street East and Sidney Avenue, contains doses of the opioid overdose reversing drug. Read more…
Full Article by Ashley Perham | Charleston Gazette-Mail In the year that the free naloxone vending machine has been up at Charleston’s Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 300 boxes — containing 600 doses of the overdose-reversing drug — have been distributed. The vending machine, a recycled newspaper dispenser, was launched by SOAR Read more…
Full Article by Lori Kersey | West Virginia Watch A case headed to the U.S. Supreme Court could reshape how cities across the country—including here in West Virginia—respond to homelessness. The case, Johnson v. Grants Pass, challenges the constitutionality of camping bans when no shelter beds are available. Charleston doesn’t Read more…
Full Article by Caity Coyne | WV Watch Last week, for the first time ever, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) visited Appalachia, holding its 78th meeting in Charleston, WV. National leaders gathered to learn firsthand about West Virginia’s struggles — and the critical need for true harm reduction Read more…
Full Story by Emily Rice | WV Public Broadcasting Save a Life Day started in West Virginia in 2020 as a two-county pilot project. Just three years later, it has grown into a regional movement with more than 300 naloxone distribution events across all 13 Appalachian states on September 14. Read more…