CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Dr. Frank Annie sees desperation in his hospital, where 30- and 40-year-olds come in with organ failure after injecting opioids with dirty needles. Joe Solomon finds it in the faces of those who line up in the church gyms and parking lots where he passes out overdose reversal drugs. Sheena Griffith encounters it on the streets she navigates with a car packed with HIV test kits and disinfectant for sanitizing syringes.
Annie is a Republican, Solomon a Democrat and Griffith an independent. All three are running for city council in the capital city of battle-scarred West Virginia, where the devastating toll of the opioid crisis transcends party politics.
“There’s so much unchecked pain, and it’s exhausting,” said Griffith, a recovery coach who’s battled substance use herself. “If we are a God-fearing state, a God-fearing country, where is God in the city of Charleston?”
More than a year after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared Charleston the scene of the country’s “most concerning HIV outbreak” due to IV drug use, the three candidates say not enough has changed. And with millions of dollars from legal settlements with opioid manufacturers and pharmacies on the way specifically for treatment and recovery, they also feel the urgency of getting things right locally, where it matters most.
But people are divided, even if not on party lines. Against CDC guidance, state and local officials voted last year to criminalize programs that give people who inject drugs clean syringes to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. A proposal for a low-barrier shelter using COVID-19 relief money that would allow residents experiencing homelessness to receive substance use disorder treatment — initially endorsed by the city’s Democratic mayor — was tabled after people complained about the potential impact on nearby schools and businesses.
Charleston, which leans more liberal than the rest of West Virginia, did invest several million dollars in COVID relief funds to support a women’s shelter, a program that helps people get access to permanent housing and a food truck run by a local soup kitchen, but most of the money has gone to economic development initiatives.
Annie said the city is more focused on trying to rebrand and rebuild after the decline of the coal industry and the pain of the opioid epidemic, and has yet to truly address the underlying issues, including the needs of people who have long been exploited.
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