CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It was a mystery as to why four men dressed in head-to-toe red jumpsuits were walking around Charleston and Huntington last month, but on Tuesday their motive was revealed.
The men including John, Terry, David and Oliver are recovering drug addicts that are on a mission to raise awareness about treatment resources available in West Virginia.
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin introduced the men Tuesday afternoon during a news conference at the federal courthouse in Charleston.
“These gentlemen, at some point in the past, have overdosed and they each have their own stories, but often they’re remarkably similar,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin told members of the media it can challenging to spot a drug addict walking down the street.
“It could be a friend. It could be a family member. They look like you or me. They don’t look sick necessarily,” he said. “They’re probably not dressed head-to-toe in red, like these folks back here, but they’re out there and there are a lot of them.”
Oliver Boston, of Putnam County, said he dressed in red to bring attention to people who easily overlook addicts on the streets.
“When we put the red suits on, it’s kind of bringing it out and trying to bring it out to the public eye,” Boston said.
Boston said he was present at Tuesday’s news conference “only by the grace of God” following years of drug addiction. He told MetroNews he previously experienced overdoses and prison sentences, but he’s looking toward a brighter future now that he has the ability to shed light on the issue.
“The life of an addict — some make it, some don’t,” he said. “Some of us are fortunate enough to carry the message and I just happen to be one of them.”
As part of an ongoing effort the state is doing to help addicts, Goodwin introduced a website and smartphone application to highlight additional resources for drug treatment.
“The app itself uses the location function of your smartphone to locate you first and then identify the resources that exist in your immediate area,” Goodwin explained.
The app titled The Call WV is available for both Apple and Android smartphones. The website is www.makethecallwv.com.
Goodwin said both the website and app are meant to work closely with the 1-844-HELP4WV hotline number introduced earlier this fall by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and officials with the state Department of Health and Human Resources.