CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Advocates for impoverished people are urging West Virginia lawmakers to oppose two bills being heard in a House committee Thursday, that they claim punish low-income people and drug users.

Senate Bill 387 would make permanent a pilot program that screens recipients of the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, for drugs.

Josh Lohnes, food policy research director at West Virginia University, thinks the bill places an unnecessary burden on low-income people and is a waste of taxpayer dollars since not many recipients test positive.

He pointed out the bill would restrict access to cash for the most vulnerable families with children during the pandemic, when they need assistance most.

"This is anti-poor legislation," Lohnes argued. "It's discriminatory, and there's this notion that the poor are irresponsible with their funds, that they don't know how to manage money, and they're going to go and use state funds to buy drugs, which is absolutely untrue."

Supporters of the bill say it's meant to help folks with substance-abuse problems get clean.

West Virginia is one of only 15 states in the nation to require drug screenings for cash assistance.

The second bill the House Committee on Health and Human Resources will consider would make it more difficult to run harm-reduction programs such as needle exchanges and syringe services that decrease the spread of diseases.

Jill Kriesky, retired associate director of the Southwest Pennsylvania Environment Health Project and author of a West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy report on harm-reduction solutions in the state, said the bill's requirements would make the programs too expensive to run and harm folks who depend on clean equipment.

"People who don't have access to clean syringes will reduce or share syringes, and diseases that are carried through used syringes like HIV and hepatitis C will increase significantly," Kriesky predicted.

She added the bill's provisions go against the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and will cost more money for medical care.

Advocates for Senate Bill 334 say the programs cause needle litter and needle-stick injuries and pose a risk to the public.


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Community service agencies say many low- and moderate-income homes in the Commonwealth are unprepared for the winter cold and could benefit from a number of free weatherization and heating services, including window sealing, attic insulation, new appliances and repairing or replacing home heating systems.

Eva Haynes, who lives in Brockton, said she is grateful for the help she received two years ago, when her furnace stopped working, and she spent nine days at home alone in the cold.

"I had googled, 'How to keep your house warm when you have no heat,' " Haynes recounted. "I mean, people didn't know what I was going through. I just was ashamed."

Homeowners like Haynes, as well as renters who are eligible for heating assistance, are also automatically eligible for the energy audits and can find out more heatinghelpma.org.

The website is run by the Massachusetts Association for Community Action, a coalition of more than 20 agencies throughout the Commonwealth, which are reporting unprecedented requests for home heating assistance, and have found many people are unaware of the free home energy audits.

Jonathan Carlson, CEO of Self Help, which serves communities in southeastern Massachusetts, said both the audits and the savings are extensive.

"You know when we leave, that house is about as efficient as it can get, as far as holding in heat," Carlson asserted.

Carlson pointed out it also keeps homes cool in the summer, adding up to even more savings over time. The average single-family, weatherized home saves at least $283 a year on energy costs.

The benefits of weatherizing a home go beyond the pocketbook. Improving the energy efficiency of older homes in low-income neighborhoods means more jobs and a cleaner environment.

Research indicates for every dollar invested in weatherization programs, nearly three go back into the community.

Liz Berube, executive director of Citizens for Citizens, serving the greater Fall River and Taunton area, said agencies statewide have jobs to offer.

"Electricians, plumbers, there's a lot of money in energy efficiency," Berube noted.

Berube added weatherizing older homes means people, especially seniors, can stay in their homes longer and communities stay intact. In addition to federal funding, the group has requested an additional $50 million from the state to ensure people have access to energy-saving programs.

Community service agencies say requests for home heating assistance were increasing even before National Grid - the power company that serves many in the area - announced energy prices could jump nearly 60% by November 1.

Requests for help with the cost of delivered fuels like home heating oil are also unusually high, with prices expected to jump 30% in the next few months.

Mary Knittle is director of energy resources at Worcester Community Action Council, which serves western and central Massachusetts.

She said on top of the thousands of applications already processed, the number of first-time applicants asking for help with delivered fuel costs compared to last year is up more than 200%.

"It's palpable, really, how anxious people in the community are about it," said Knittle. "And probably a lot of folks who maybe never really thought they would need the help are going to apply for the first time."

But Knittle said she wants people to know the income eligibility to participate in the fuel assistance program is quite high. A family of four can earn up to $81,000 and still receive a benefit.

She encouraged people to call their local service agency, or to apply at 'HeatingHelpMA.org.'

The federal government has allocated an additional $37 million to Massachusetts for energy assistance, but those who field calls from working parents and retired seniors looking for help predict they'll need more.

Joe Diamond is the executive director of Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP), a coalition of more than 20 Community Action Agencies.

He said MASSCAP has requested the state tag on an additional $50 million to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help people stay warm through the winter.

"We don't ask them every year, but in years when there is a crisis, we do," said Diamond. "And the legislature and the governor have been so responsive."

Diamond said his agency is streamlining the application process for heating help through 'HeatingHelpMA.org,' working to ensure that anyone who qualifies for public benefits automatically becomes eligible for heating assistance.

On the heels of a regional conference, multiple groups are working on new solutions for reducing the poverty gap in Minnesota.

Nonprofits, government leaders and people who've seen poverty firsthand gathered last week in Duluth to get a deeper sense of the connection between poverty and race in Minnesota, and discuss how to overcome long-standing disparities.

Bill Grant, executive director of the Minnesota Community Action Partnership, which hosted the event, said one observation is assistance programs are often run by people who have never experienced poverty. He added public perception is still a problem.

"We also need to challenge the belief that poverty is inescapable," Grant asserted. "We need to get over the belief that there will always be a percentage of the population that chooses to live in poverty."

While overall poverty has declined in the U.S., a recent Partnership report noted the Minnesota rates for Black residents and Native American populations are 20% or higher, well above the state level of 8.7%.

Grant noted one solution discussed was pardon reform, in hopes of making it easier for someone with a past conviction to escape the poverty cycle with a new job and housing.

John Doan, vice president of operations and equity for Trellis, a group providing support services for people as they age, said income disparities are especially felt among older Minnesotans of color.

He stressed it is a myth programs like Social Security and Medicare give seniors everything they need, and depending on your ZIP code, your advanced years are likely to be even more difficult.

"Access to education, access to healthy food sources, access to jobs; all of those things play into account," Doan outlined. "Because if you think about [being] older and poor, it's an accumulation of lots of years of life experience and of life circumstances."

Doan's group is part of a coalition which will soon ask state lawmakers to boost funding for basic services for older Minnesotans, to make sure economic prosperity is evenly shared.

"For example, we know that there's a huge shortage in funding for senior meals, as well as for assisted transportation," Doan noted.