Screening Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Hope And Healing Documentary To Premiere On April 23, 2024

“Hope and Healing: A Discussion with West Virginia Youth” is a collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting and the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute (WVDII). Youth from West Virginia gathered for the project to talk about issues they face on topics including substance use disorder, bullying, social media, and mental health. The project will be screened on Tuesday, April 23, at 5:30 p.m. at the University of Charleston’s Geary Auditorium. The screening is free and open to the public.

An eye-opening documentary illuminating teen struggles presented by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute

Charleston, WV – (April 1, 2024) – A video project with West Virginia youth talking about issues they face, ranging from social media to substance use disorder, will premiere at a public screening in April at the University of Charleston.

The project will broadcast statewide on WVPB Television on Monday, April 29, at 9 p.m. and will be available on all WVPB’s streaming platforms, including the PBS App, YouTube, and at wvpublic.org.

“These teens had very open and honest conversations about their struggles and of those around them to educate other teenagers and adults better,” said Heather McDaniel, WVDII’s vice president.

Filmed at the University of Charleston’s new downtown innovation center, the project underscores the importance of listening to youth voices and understanding their perspectives. It features candid discussions with middle and high school students in West Virginia. The youths express what they wish adults knew about navigating life in today’s world, from discussing their encounters in schools to offering advice on effective communication and prevention strategies. The participants engage in a thought-provoking roundtable discussion aimed at fostering empathy and awareness.

“We believe ‘Hope and Healing’ has the power to spark important conversations and drive positive change in our communities,” said Maggie Holley, WVPB’s director of Education.

The WVPB Education Department and the WVDII encourage guidance counselors in school systems throughout the state to use this video and accompanying activities as a resource.

Those interested in attending the screening at the University of Charleston on April 23 should RSVP to rhiannon@wvdii.org.

For more information about the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, contact President Susan Bissett at susan@wvdii.org or Vice President Heather McDaniel at heather@wvdii.org.

For more information about West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s education programs, contact education@wvpublic.org.

Watch the promotional trailer for Hope and Healing using this link or click below.

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About the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute

Located in Charleston, West Virginia, the mission of the Drug Intervention Institute is to reduce opioid and drug-related deaths in Appalachia and the nation by (a) preventing substance use through education (b) reducing overdose through training and distribution related to naloxone and other opioid reversal agents, and (c) supporting harm reduction and other drug-response efforts.

About West Virginia Public Broadcasting

West Virginia Public Broadcasting is dedicated to Telling West Virginia’s Story through its state radio and television network and online platforms. WVPB’s mission is to educate, inform and inspire the people of West Virginia. WVPB is the Mountain State’s only source for national NPR and PBS programming.

Lawmakers Debate Bill To Require Businesses To Check Possible Employee’s Eligibility To Work In The U.S.

After nearly an hour of debate, the House passed House Bill 4759 which requires most business owners to check applicants’ work eligibility immigration status through the E-Verify system.

On Friday the House of Delegates gaveled in at 11 a.m. and passed two bills with minimal discussion. Those were Senate Bill 269, which decriminalized drug testing strips, and House Bill 4205, which would change the process of election litigation.

Delegates also debated House Bill 4759 and its various amendments for nearly an hour. The bill aims to quell the employment of people who are in the country illegally by checking status with the federal E-Verify system.

Del. Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, presented two amendments to the bill he said would make the bill more small-business friendly.

“But what my bill does is my amendment strike and insert amendment is trying to go after who’s the wrongdoers,” Foster said. “That’s the goal of the amendment. Rather than making every business, every business with 15 or more employees goes through a cumbersome government process.”

The first amendment, a strike and insert, failed on a floor vote.

The second amendment introduced by Foster requires employers to keep I-9s on file.

“This amendment has much less to do with the bills as like my policy decision of what should be done and more to do with can this bill operate,” Foster said. “Because right now as the bill is written, section four is not included in the bill. But the employer is defined as 15 or more employees. So section four is your records requirement for your I-9.”

The House approved a second amendment.

The bill itself was the topic of discussion as the debate wore on. Some lawmakers thought the bill added cumbersome paperwork to small business owners across the state.

“We want to make sure we have legal people working in the state but also have concerns as a small business owner myself,” Del. Jim Butler, R-Mason said. “What additional burdens were added to small employers?”

Other lawmakers, like Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, cited an “immigration crisis” as the reasoning behind the bill and blamed President Joe Biden’s administration.

“We have created a country that makes it very, very easy that once you get across the border, you can migrate throughout this country so easily at this point, that we have to start paying attention to this stuff, we have to start paying attention to making sure that these documents get verified, because it’s so easy to create counterfeit documents,” McGeehan said.

The bill, as amended, was passed by the House and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

WVPB Shares Documentary Honoring The Legacy Of Woody Williams

West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) recently aired a new documentary about the life of Medal of Honor recipient, Woody Williams titled, “Woody Williams: An Extraordinary Life of Service.” The public is encouraged to join us for a special screening on Monday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m.

Join Us Monday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the West Virginia Culture Center Theater

West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) recently aired a new documentary about the life of Medal of Honor recipient, Woody Williams titled, Woody Williams: An Extraordinary Life of Service. The public is encouraged to join us for a special screening on Monday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m.

WHAT: Screening of Documentary Film Woody Williams: An Extraordinary Life of Service

WHERE: Culture Center Theater. Capitol Complex

WHEN: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

The documentary chronicles the life of Hershel “Woody” Williams, America’s last living World War II Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. William’s life was dedicated to God, family, country and perhaps above all, service. In 2022, Williams passed at the age of 98, and would lie in honor at both the West Virginia State Capitol and the US Capitol.

The documentary shares how Williams at the age of 85, formed the Woody Williams Foundation, dedicated to honoring and helping Gold Star Families. Through the work of the foundation, there are now Gold Star Families Monuments in every state.

View the trailer below.

Mobile Lung Cancer Screening Unit Visiting 3 W.Va. Counties

A mobile lung cancer screening unit that offers service to West Virginia counties without easy access to screenings will be visiting three counties next week.

The unit known as LUCAS will visit Preston, Taylor and Marion counties. The unit is operated by WVU Medicine-WVU Hospitals and the WVU Cancer Institute.

Screenings will be offered on June 7 at West Preston Primary Care in Reedsville, call (304) 594-4705 for an appointment; on June 8 at Grafton-Taylor Health Department, (304) 233-0830; and on June 10 at Monongahela Valley Association Clinic in Fairmont, (304) 367-8736.

Private insurance, Medicaid or Medicare will be billed for the screenings. Uninsured West Virginia residents who meet the criteria can receive screenings through grant funding and donations, WVU Medicine said in a news release.

'Heroin(e)' Director's New Film Explores Recovery, Community

Academy Award-nominated director Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s newest film “Recovery Boys” is now available on Netflix. The film is a companion to Sheldon’s first film “Heroin(e).”

Her new documentary follows four men as they try to reinvent their lives after years struggling with substance use disorder. Two of the men are West Virginia natives, while the other two are from Florida and Virginia.

But all four of them have found their way to an addiction treatment program on a farm in Aurora, West Virginia. This farm and its treatment center, called Jacob’s Ladder, is the setting for Sheldon’s film.

There are different ways someone struggling with substance use disorder can find recovery, but Sheldon says while making her film and following these men, she’s seen the impact farming and agriculture can play.

“When they come to the farm, they’re able to not only learn new skills but sort of find new purpose within this farming community, which is very supportive and very loving,” Sheldon said, “So I think there’s a real opportunity, because West Virginia does have many farming communities like Aurora, you know, for people to be a part of that. I think that farming; we know nature’s healing, we know that people’s environments play a role in their recovery.”

Sheldon says the program works with a person struggling with addiction by teaching them not to rely on instant gratification, but to think about the good that’s coming – the crops they planted, the animals they’re raising, or of the future – family, kids, a job; to be able to imagine life beyond the addiction.

“Shifting those environments to more positive ones, you know, taking away the instant gratification thing of getting your fix on a daily basis; planting a seed and seeing the results of that, weeks and months down the road, is something to remap pathways in the brain; to teach people to have longer visions of their life.”

Sheldon says it was important to her to give viewers an honest picture of substance use disorder, treatment, and recovery, and says there is nowhere better for that story to be told than in West Virginia.

“I think West Virginia has a huge opportunity, because we have this problem, to be a leader in providing solutions around the crisis. We have beautiful environments throughout this state that can reconnect people back to nature; nature and environment plays a very important role in people’s connection to one another.”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting will co-sponsor a free screening of Sheldon’s new film, “Recovery Boys” on Friday, July 6 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Morgantown. The doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the documentary will start at 6:30 p.m.

Click here to RSVP.

New Recommendations Issued for Adult Depression Screening

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has issued new depression screening recommendations that focus on pregnant and postpartum women.

The report was published earlier this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It updates 2009 recommendations for adult depression screenings.

“Pregnant women are a vulnerable population especially in the postpartum period,” said Doctor Leo Brancazio, chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at West Virginia University School of Medicine.

“People have heard of post-partum blues, which actually doesn’t do what happens to many women justice” he said. “There is a clinical entity called post-partum depression that has to do with the change in the woman’s life, the change that her body just went through and some of the hormonal changes that occur right after delivery that make many women at high risk for suffering a major depressive episode.”

He said pregnant women were not excluded from the 2009 recommendations, but they were not specifically highlighted either, despite their high-risk status.

Screenings include a standard Patient Health Questionnaire that should be found at any primary care facility. Treatment options vary, but often include medication or psychotherapy.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.