Lill lives in Appalachian West Virginia — it’s coal country, and it’s also the overdose capital of the United States. An increasingly dangerous drug supply and a lack of safe supplies like clean syringes leave people who use drugs vulnerable to disease and death. Lill is trying to fill that gap, providing safe supplies and care all over West Virginia — even as the government tries to stop them.
Resources:
- Bodies Facebook Group
- Life Examined podcast (KCRW) featuring an interview with Hannah Harris Green
- Southern West Virginia Harm Reduction
- Resources for Safer Drug Use
- CDC Recommendations to fight HIV in West Virginia
- Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction
- Drug Use for Grown-Ups by Carl Hart
Read the full transcript here.
A porch in Lill’s town. Photo by Hannah Harris Green.
Bloodroot, a local medicinal herb in West Virginia, found in the woods near Lill’s house. Photo by Hannah Harris Green.
A strip mining or “mountaintop removal” sight near Lill’s home in West Virginia. Photo by Hannah Harris Green.
Fentanyl test strips in the “Harm Reduction Room” at Lill’s house. Photo by Hannah Harris Green.