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 Read more…
EDIT: On April 19, 2021, Charleston City Council voted to criminalize needs based syringe exchange, going against CDC recommendations, despite the HIV outbreak. We are no longer distributing syringes.
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 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 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 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 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 Read more…