MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission has approved the letter of support for the Living in Good Health Together (LIGHT) program.
Commission President Sean Sikora said they want to do what they can to improve the numbers and help people get to treatment. Ultimately, they want people to have access to the services available so they have the best opportunity to be successful in taming addiction.
“Our aim is not to tell the experts what to do, but in this instance we have heard from a number of experts who want us to relay their opinion to Milan Puskar Health Right to make this program better going forward,” Sikora said.
The commission has asked for a monthly activity report detailing the numbers of needles received and given, increasing referrals to other services for those in the program, and increasing collaboration with the Monongalia County Health Department.
The LIGHT program distributed more than 186,000 needles from January to August of 2024, and Commissioner Tom Bloom noted the number of needles exchanged has dropped drastically since Senate Bill 334 went into effect, adding limits, including a one-to-one exchange requirement.
“There were 612,744 distributed in 2022, only 390,424 distributed in 2023, and currently 195,580 this year so far,” Bloom said.
Breaking down the numbers of syringes turned in is also something Bloom wants to address. In Mon County, the return rate was 79 percent in 2023, and that number jumped to 94 percent this year.
Bloom has requested a monthly activity report from Milan Puskar Health Right for the LIGHT program.
“And then an asterisk by how many are turned, so they’re not actually collected from the agency but from, say, six houses when you knock them down and 2,000 needles,” Bloom said. “That is not how I want the harm reduction program to work.”
Referrals are also a big concern for Bloom. The number of people participating in the program referred for other services or treatment has declined over the last two years and so far this year. This year, with more than 185,000 needles distributed, there were less than 120 referrals. The referrals encourage those using the program to get tested for HIV, hepatitis, or other health checks depending on their age and gender.
“I am very concerned about the direction the numbers are going in the referrals—they’re not going in the right direction, and I believe we need to find out how we can make those numbers better.”
Commissioners also appointed former Monongalia County Board of Education President Ron Lytle to the Monongalia County Deputy Sheriff’s Civil Service Commission. Frank Vitale stepped down recently after more than 20 years of service.
“He didn’t want to be on something that didn’t make a difference and this is a small commission that makes big decisions and he was willing to be a part of that.”