CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Charleston-based political organization held a forum Tuesday with Kanawha County residents and candidates for state officials regarding the opioid crisis and ways to address multiple related issues.
Rise Up West Virginia held the forum at the La Belle Theatre in Charleston, with organization members, voters and people interested in state office on hand to take part in discussions on ways to combat the misuse of opioids.
The event was organized by the organization’s two fellows, A-Nya Badger and Katelyn Damron, who have been with the organization for the summer to learn about community organizing.
“We’ve had four or five talks with people involved in the opioid crisis to educate ourselves so that we can educate everyone else,” Badger said. “We want more people active around the opioid crisis and caring. The stigma is that addicts made the wrong choice and we shouldn’t care about them, but there’s more than just that.”
Badger said education is important, as its legislative action.
“We would want out legislators to support homeless shelters and safe reformed needle exchange,” she said. “In Canada, they started safe-injection sites, where people who are on drugs can come in and be supervised and do their drug and it’s not criminalized in that area. If they overdose, someone is there with Narcan to bring them back to life.”
The forum included educational stations as well as a questioning session with legislative candidates.