McDowell sheriff’s office plans second outreach event in War

The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office will return to War on July 17 with a second “You’re Not Alone” outreach event, a three-hour stop near Grant’s Supermarket where residents can connect directly with help instead of having to navigate it alone. The event is set for 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is being framed as a judgment-free effort focused on support and assistance, not punishment.

That approach matters in a county where substance abuse, homelessness, mental-health challenges and other hardships often overlap. Corporal Houk is the contact for questions at (304) 436-8523, giving residents a direct number to call if they want to know what services will be available or how to get someone to the event.

The outreach is being held in War, on the southern end of McDowell County, where access to services can be harder for people who do not have transportation or who are reluctant to ask for help on their own. By setting up near a busy local business rather than inside a government office, the sheriff’s office is positioning the event as a place where people can be met where they are, not where the system expects them to go.

The public-health stakes are steep. In the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy’s 2025 McDowell County profile, methamphetamine was present in 78% of the county’s 2024 overdose fatalities, while fentanyl was present in 57%. Statewide, preliminary 2024 data showed more than 800 people died in association with drug misuse, a rate of 48.9 per 100,000 population, more than twice the national average.

The county already has several identified response partners in state planning materials: WVU Welch Community Hospital is listed as a hospital with substance-use-disorder response, Southern Highlands is named as the local comprehensive behavioral health provider, Community Connections is the prevention lead organization, and the McDowell Alternative Sentencing Program is the local day report provider. Those are the kinds of agencies residents may be hoping to find at an event like this, especially if the goal is to leave with a referral, not just a pamphlet.

State lawmakers have also linked homelessness in West Virginia to mental health and substance-use issues, noting that providers, local officials, law enforcement and emergency services often see those problems as intertwined. Help & Hope WV makes the same point more bluntly, saying stigma keeps people from seeking treatment and that substance use disorder is treatable. In that context, the sheriff’s office event is more than a community appearance. It is another test of whether local law enforcement can serve as a doorway to care in a county where crisis often arrives before help does.