CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — For years, West Virginia has had the nation’s highest rate of opioid drug addictions and drug overdose deaths. Now the state is wrestling with another, not entirely unrelated health emergency: one of the nation’s highest spikes in HIV cases related to intravenous drug use. The surge, Read more…
Full Article by Lauren Peace | Mountain State Spotlight Charleston’s HIV outbreak is now one of the most concerning in the nation, according to the CDC — with Kanawha County recording nearly as many injection-related HIV cases in 2020 as New York City, a place nearly 50 times larger. The Read more…
Full Article by Caity Coyne | Charleston Gazette-Mail Needle exchange is a hot topic again in Charleston with the City Council expected to vote in upcoming weeks on an amendment that would criminalize needle distribution. Here are answers to common questions about needle exchange programs based both on interviews with Read more…
Full Article by Lauren Peace | Mountain State Spotlight As Charleston debates the future of syringe service programs, Mountain State Spotlight highlights what public health experts — and frontline organizations like SOAR WV — want everyone to know: syringe access saves lives and builds bridges to recovery. At a recent Read more…
When Charleston shut down its syringe access program in 2018, public health experts warned that an HIV crisis could follow. Now it’s here. In an in-depth piece from 100 Days in Appalachia, reporter Lauren Peace documents the fallout—including how SOAR WV’s grassroots harm reduction work tried to fill the gap Read more…
by Amelia Ferrell Knisely | Charleston Gazette-Mail A new case of hepatitis C was reported nearly every eight hours in Kanawha county last year. The number of men and women diagnosed in 2018 with the infectious disease soared in the months after the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department closed its public syringe Read more…
Full Article by Julia Lurie | Mother Jones In a Mother Jones article, “HIV Is Spreading in West Virginia. The Solution Is in Short Supply,” journalist Julia Lurie highlights a growing public health crisis in Charleston, West Virginia — and the warnings are stark. As HIV cases surge in nearby Read more…
Full Article by MetroNews Staff | WV Metro News In a major blow to public health efforts in Charleston, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) has suspended the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s (KCHD) harm reduction clinic, including its syringe exchange program. The decision follows a state evaluation Read more…
This week, Charleston witnessed a major setback for public health efforts as the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (KCHD) suspended its syringe service program. After months of mounting pressure from city officials citing public safety concerns, the health department paused the needle exchange portion of its broader harm reduction program — a Read more…