Delaney Wells, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

DHHR Launches Bureau For Behavioral Health Clearinghouse

The Bureau for Behavioral Health Clearinghouse is a new online database of practices for anyone seeking help to make informed decisions about selecting effective prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery services.

Behavioral health has become a critical public health issue in the state — that’s according to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHR).

The agency’s Bureau for Behavioral Health (BBH) Clearinghouse is a new online database of practices for anyone seeking help to make informed decisions about selecting effective prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery services. It is a tool to help individuals, families, providers, schools, communities and other partners.

The Clearinghouse took approximately two years to launch and was originally commissioned to review behavioral health services for children, youth and young adults, but it accepts requests for people of all ages.

“West Virginians deserve knowledge of and access to quality behavioral health services,” said Dawn Frohna, commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau for Behavioral Health. “The BBH Clearinghouse is a tool to save time when exploring and implementing behavioral health services proven to have positive outcomes.”

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 38 percent of West Virginia adults reported symptoms of anxiety and or depressive disorder as recently as February 2023. In 2019, 36 percent of West Virginia youth reported being sad or hopeless, while 20 percent considered suicide.

California and Washington also have similar online registries.

The BBH Clearinghouse is funded through grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

For more information visit https://clearinghouse.helpandhopewv.org/request-program-review/.

PSC Calls For Takeover Of Deteriorated Armstrong Water System

The Public Service Commission of West Virginia has issued an emergency order against Armstrong Public Service District in Fayette County.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia has issued an emergency order against Armstrong Public Service District in Fayette County, which one official called the worst in the state.

This emergency order follows concerns from residents about poor and possibly contaminated water that serves 900 customers along the Kanawha River Valley.

“I was shocked at the testimony that was presented to us today,” PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane said.

During a hearing, the commission told Armstrong to enter into an interim emergency operations and management agreement within 10 days that will allow West Virginia American Water to take control of the system. The agreement must be filed with the commission by July 31.

PSC engineer Jonathan Fowler called it “the worst system currently operating in the state” during an evidentiary hearing at Montgomery City Hall. The system’s treatment plant and infrastructure have remained the same since Armstrong came into existence in 1955.

Resident and veteran Graorge Wheeler said he had a better water system while serving in Iraq.

“I told my wife I felt like we are living in a third-world country, the water is undrinkable, you’re scared to drink it,” said Johnny Pennington, another resident.

Last Oct. 13, West Virginia American Water asked the Commission to determine if Armstrong is a distressed or failing utility. The Fayette County Commission supported the request.

Attorney General Announces W.Va. First Foundation Position Opening

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced the West Virginia First Foundation executive director position.

The West Virginia First Foundation is a new organization that aims to combat drug addiction in West Virginia. It was created by the West Virginia Legislature to assure opioid settlement monies are distributed properly.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced an executive director position has been posted on DRiWaterstone Human Capital, an Arlington, Va. based executive search firm.

The Foundation will receive 72.5 percent of the net proceeds of each settlement of judgment. The funds will support evidence-based treatment programs, education and prevention strategies, law enforcement efforts, and recovery programs to help end the drug crisis in West Virginia.

“We expect to be in a position that the appropriate candidate will meet with the board by mid-September,” Morrisey said. “Too many West Virginia families have been shattered by opioid use disorders. We will continue to fight so that future generations will have the tools they need to prevent these senseless deaths.”

The six regions in the state have met and elected their representative on the board of directors. The executive director will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Foundation.

The posting can be found on the DRiWaterstone Human Capital website.

ACLU: Government Officials Should Think Twice Before Blocking On Social Media

ACLU-WV filed a lawsuit against Jefferson County commissioner Steve Stolipher for violating the First Amendment rights of a constituent.

The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia (ACLU-WV) has filed a lawsuit in the Jefferson County Circuit Court against Jefferson County Commissioner Steve Stolipher. In May 2022, Stolipher blocked constituent Christy Stadig, a resident of Harpers Ferry, from his official government Facebook page.

Stadig had responded to a comment on Stoliphers Facebook page asking him about what he had posted. She got a notification that the commissioner had responded to her comment but when she went back to his page, her original comment and his response had been deleted. A few hours later, she realized she had been blocked.

Stadig went to a Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee meeting where she asked Stolpher to unblock her from his Facebook. He responded by laughing at her request.

Aubrey Sparks, the legal director at ACLU-WV, says that blocking a person from an official Facebook page is one of the most common complaints her department gets. She says sometimes there is no malicious intent, just a lack of knowledge.

“Sometimes public servants just legitimately don’t know that this is something they aren’t permitted to do, and so they rather block someone than really engage.” Sparks said. “Blocking is a problem that is incredibly widespread, and we want to make the point that it’s not okay at any level of government…it is a big deal to our client because she was relying on that access to information to learn about her representatives and policies that would affect her as a resident of Jefferson County.”

Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, has three Facebook pages. Her personal, campaign, and official Delegate page. While she occasionally blocks or deletes from her personal and campaign pages, she does not on her official delegate page. She says she engages with those with similar and opposing views.

“Most of the time I let them vent, I’ll read what they’ve said, if it’s something I need to take into consideration I will, but I let them vent and say whatever they want to say,” Crouse said.

Government official’s social media pages are seen as public forums and blocking a constituent is restricting their freedom of speech. The ACLU-WV has a toolkit to let people know their rights if they have been blocked by a government official.

Marshall Student Selected For National Opioid Affected Youth Advisory Board

Brooklyn Johnson is a member of the Prevention Empowerment Partnership Youth Trainee Program and has been selected to serve on the national Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Opioid Affected Youth Advisory Board.

Marshall University student Brooklyn Johnson is a member of the Prevention Empowerment Partnership Youth Trainee Program and has been selected to serve on the national Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Opioid Affected Youth Advisory Board.

Johnson is one of seven students selected for the board nationally. The ages of the students range from 18 to 24.

“Brooklyn’s appointment to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Opioid Affected Youth Advisory Board is a significant milestone that reflects her passion, expertise and unwavering dedication to empowering youth and promoting substance use prevention,” Angela Saunders, director of Prevention Empowerment Partnership, said.

“It is truly a dream come true,” Johnson said. “I am so thankful for my community for growing me into the person I am today and am beyond grateful for the Prevention Empowerment Partnership for empowering me with the training and experience which have made me qualified for this national position.”

Brooklyn Johnson. *Credit: Marshall University*

The board’s mission statement is “The impact of this board will be to enhance youth survival and safety by leveraging the lived experiences of young people and redefining recovery as any positive change. Through advocacy, education, and awareness, we will advance evidence-based prevention and sustainable recovery efforts that are rooted in foundations of cultural humility, holistic approaches, reduction of stigma, and restorative justice.”

The board will address the specific challenges that youth deal with when affected by opioids and substance abuse disorders.

WVSU Holds Archaeological Field School In Malden

The historic Hale House in Malden is the site of WVSU’s archaeological field school.

West Virginia State University (WVSU) is having its archaeological field school at the historic Hale House in Malden in eastern Kanawha County. For four weeks, students have been digging up West Virginia history for their History 399 class.

“We do a field school which is a learning experience for the students,” said Michael Workman, class instructor. “They learn some of the basic techniques of archaeology. This is, however, historical archaeology and that we use not only what we can dig, but also historical records.”

Student Keyira Curtis (left) and field coordinator Carl Demuth look at plans for the day.

*Credit: Jack Bailey/West Virginia State University*

WVSU students and faculty sit down for a meeting about the dig site.

*Credit: Jack Bailey/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

The Hale House is believed to have once been the house of Kanawha Valley politician, Dr. John Hale. Hale was the owner of the largest salt works in North America, supplying salt to the thriving meat packing center of Cincinnati. After the collapse of the salt business in the 1870s, he ventured into brick making machinery, the Bank of the West in Charleston, which he helped organize, as well as the city’s first gas company.

The archaeological dig project came about after a chance meeting with Bob Maslowski, a consultant, and Lewis Payne at Dickinson Salt-Works.

“We came up with the idea of getting a field school started at Dickinson Salt Works and maybe, have it turn into a long-term project,” said Maslowski “As it turned out, this particular site came up and we decided to start the excavations here, at the Hale House. We thought originally that it was occupied by John Hale who was a famous historian and salt maker and we haven’t been able to substantiate that, but it is one of the early houses in Malden and in the Kanawha Valley.”

Hale helped initiate the move of the state capitol to Charleston in 1870 and headed a group of investors who built the capitol building in 1871. Hale also became the mayor of Charleston that same year.

Students search for lost items from Kanawha Valley history.

*Credit: Jack Bailey/West Virginia State University*

Carl Demuth is the field coordinator for the project and an adjunct professor at Marshall University. He said it is important for students to learn about the lives of people in history.

“There’s not many other opportunities you have to be the first person to hold something that no one else has touched in fifty, a hundred, two hundred, a thousand years, and that’s what a lot of these students are doing,” Demuth said. “Working with these students lets them have the chance to embrace their own heritage and history in a way that’s a little bit different and, you know, that’s really why I’m out here.”