West Virginia Public Broadcasting – A volunteer-run harm-reduction group in the city of Charleston called SOAR has come under fire from city officials for distributing syringes as part of its “mobile outreach” efforts. Read the full article.
A representative from SOAR (Solutions Oriented Addiction Response) says group members started distributing syringes some time after the 2018 shutdown of the Kanawha Charleston Health Department syringe program.
SOAR shut down its program three weeks ago after the city’s police chief claimed they were violating a municipal ordinance. However, the city’s ordinance may not actually prohibit anyone from distributing syringes.