Recovery Efforts Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Recovery Day Draws Crowds At W.Va. Capitol

Advocates and recovery experts filled the capitol rotunda on Monday to educate lawmakers about substance use disorder.

One of the big issues facing people in recovery is reintegrating into society.

Nic Cochran is the director of Youth Services System, an organization that helps people in recovery reintegrate into society after incarceration or treatment at a rehab facility.

“We exclusively work with people who have a substance use disorder,” Cochran said. “But yes, recovery is a broad term because we also have to talk about reentry, the impacts of incarceration on the people with SUD (substance use disorder) is massive, we see so many people incarcerated.”

In a partnership with recovery homes and Uplift West Virginia, Youth Services System displayed a memorial to the people in the state lost to overdose.

“So we’re inviting people to write the names of anyone lost to overdose on the bricks, or to light a candle if they don’t feel comfortable writing the name,” Cochran said. “But the candles are also representing somebody who we wish was in recovery, or maybe somebody who used to be in recovery, or, or even people who are still in recovery, and we just want to celebrate that.”

Cochran said a big part of Recovery Day is to be a visible example for lawmakers to break down stigma.

“Substance use disorder is criminalized so heavily,” Cochran said. “We really need additional support in order to recover, in order to have treatment and to be rehabilitated so that we can become contributing members of society. So if I had anything to say to legislators, that’s what it would be, you know, we’re people, please treat us like people. And let’s get over the stigma.”

The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute was also featured at Recovery Day. Their receptionist, Rhiannon Wiseman, said she was there to educate the public and lawmakers about the One Box.

“The One Box is an opioid overdose response kit. You open it up, it’ll walk you through an overdose step by step,” Wiseman said. “Now whether you, a lot of people, can’t respond to an overdose or any traumatic circumstances – they kind of freak out. There’s no guesswork. It walks you right through it.”

Wiseman said it is important to have harm reduction resources like One Box available everywhere.

“Opioid overdose can happen absolutely anywhere in homes, businesses, schools, libraries, doctor’s office, it doesn’t matter,” Wiseman said. “They happen everywhere now.”

Wiseman added that Naloxone, or Narcan, is safe for everyone and encouraged others to be trained in administering the opioid overdose reversal drug.

Cabell County Commission Approves Audit of Harm Reduction Program

The Cabell County Commission approved a resolution seeking an evaluation and audit of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department’s syringe exchange program.

Syringe exchanges are widely seen by public health experts as a key measure in preventing the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs.

“We feel that our effort has been successful while we search for people who are afflicted with this illness and get them the help they need,” said Dr. Michael E. Kilkenny, executive director of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department. “So these restrictions have had some impact on our ability to prevent disease.”

The audit of Cabell-Huntington’s program comes over a year after a new state law went into effect, Senate Bill 334, which requires programs offering syringe exchanges to host a number of other harm reduction services, force them to deny clean needles to those who don’t return with their used needles and require them to only serve clients with state IDs in order to operate.

“As a licensed entity we are fully aware that we are subject to review by not only Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification (OHFLAC), who issues our license but also by our main granting organizations through the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) so we are certainly open and willing,” Dr. Kilkenny said. “We are actually even eager to have an inspection and make sure that we are complying with all aspects of the law. We are hopeful that the audit will provide clarity to the county commission.”

Kilkenny noted that the Cabell-Huntington Health Department’s syringe exchange program informed national harm reduction strategies and said he sees the audit as an opportunity to show success within the program and inform local citizens about the program’s benefits.

“I think we have established the basic understanding of Appalachian injection drug use and that has been used to inform the national strategy and we have been informed by the national strategy as we work toward that 2030 goal,” Dr. Kilkenny said. “I think that is what they are looking for and I think they will better understand what it is we do and how effective it is.”

FEMA Approves $28 Million for Disaster Assistance

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin says it will be some time before the state has fully recovered after devastating floods in late June. He says he anticipates the damage to well-exceed $100 million.

Governor Tomblin held a press conference Wednesday to update the state on the status of recovery efforts in West Virginia.

Tomblin says 12 counties have been approved for FEMA assistance, and more than 7,000 residents have applied for individual assistance. FEMA has approved more than $28 million for individuals and households.

More than 3,300 visitors have stopped by at recovery centers. More than 400 disaster-related unemployment claims have been filed.

Roadways impacted by the flooding have reached about $55 million worth of damages.

“Obviously this, you know, as big as it is, it’s going to take some,” Tomblin said, “and you know, it will be expensive and ongoing for some time to handle all the cleanup of this event.”

Tomblin says he’s planning to schedule a special session sometime soon to see what the state Legislature can do to help in the relief efforts.