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With compassion and faith, a mayor leads his city through the opioid crisis

Steve Williams of Huntington, West Virginia, may be the most successful mayor on the front lines of America鈥檚 opioid crisis. And he would tell you, it鈥檚 failure that helped him get there.

In the 1990s, he quit a 15-year career in public service after burning bridges as a state legislator and getting skunked in the Huntington mayoral race.

He went to work at a bank brokerage, but after a year he was the second-worst performer in the company and on the verge of getting fired. His manager came to him and said, 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to let you fail鈥� 鈥� and then gave him a higher vision for his job.

鈥淎ll of a sudden, the light turned on: I don鈥檛 need to sell anything to anybody. I just need to help them,鈥� says Mayor Williams. Help them plan for their children鈥檚 college tuition. Help them navigate their retirement. The next year, he was one of the top 30 brokers in the country for his company.

So when he became mayor in 2013, and the opioid crisis hit, he knew the power of reaching out to people in despair 鈥� of taking them by the hand and telling them, 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to let go.鈥�

It was a bleak picture. West Virginia had the highest overdose rate in the country, and Huntington was hit hard. People were calling his office saying they didn鈥檛 feel safe letting their children play in the yard anymore.

At one of the first public hearings he attended, people were talking about the need for intervention, prevention, treatment, and law enforcement, while emphasizing that there was no silver bullet. The mayor piped up. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know about any of you,鈥� he remembers saying, 鈥渂ut I know, for me, I鈥檝e experienced the power of prayer 鈥� and I haven鈥檛 heard one person mention the power of prayer.鈥�

Faith leaders responded, coordinating a time for their congregations across the city to pray that those struggling with addiction would be delivered, that those dealing drugs would leave crime behind, and that law enforcement authorities would be protected in their fight against opioid abuse. A short video Mayor Williams made garnered 1 million views in just a few weeks, prompting emails of support from as far away as Germany and India.

But overdoses continued to rise.

鈥淚鈥檇 be less than honest if I didn鈥檛 say that throughout this time, there was some doubt and discouragement,鈥� says Mayor Williams. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a patient prayerfulness that I鈥檝e learned to hold on to,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭hat small quiet voice that鈥檚 telling me what I need to do.鈥�

He facilitated collaboration across sectors in Huntington, from researchers at the local university to data gurus in the police department. Those partnerships led to increased trust 鈥� and hope.听In December 2017, the city听began sending small teams of people to visit each person听who had overdosed, a day or two after the sirens had quieted, to express compassion and offer help and resources. The initiative has been credited with helping to听cut the overdose rate in half within its first six months. The trend line continues to be positive, with 2019 rates below those of 2018.

鈥淲hat Steve is doing is bringing passion to this,鈥� says Jim Carroll, head of the Trump administration鈥檚 Office of National Drug Control Policy.听鈥淗e has a strong faith; he is committed to his town. ... And that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 trying to replicate 鈥� people like Steve, with his passion.鈥�

The first person Mr. Carroll contacted after being confirmed by the Senate last year, apart from his relatives, was Mayor Williams 鈥� despite the fact that they come from different political parties. Indeed, the West Virginia mayor is now a go-to source not only for fellow mayors but also national authorities, and even international dignitaries. He is one of only four mayors on the National City-County Task Force on the Opioid Epidemic. The U.S. surgeon general, the British ambassador, and both Mr. Carroll and his predecessor in the Obama administration, Mike Botticelli, have visited Huntington, seeking to learn from the city鈥檚 success. First Lady听Melania Trump visited Huntington on Monday to highlight its work on the opioid crisis, and met with the mayor, as well as West Virginia鈥檚 senators and governor and acting Department of Homeland Security chief Kevin McAleenan, who was also in town.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e able to show is yes, it can be replicated,鈥� says Mayor Williams, who tells those overseeing larger metro areas that Huntington鈥檚 strategies can be scaled up. 鈥淭he difference between your city and mine is zeroes.鈥�

Still, the challenge is sobering. Even if Big Pharma stopped selling opioid pills today, and drug dealers never distributed another gram of heroin, Mayor Williams estimates it would still take three or four decades to deal with the effects of the current crisis.

He takes heart from an observation of Adm. James Stockdale, an American prisoner of war in Vietnam, recorded in the book 鈥淕ood to Great.鈥� The POWs who survived tended not to be those who thought they鈥檇 be released soon, but those who faced the brutal facts of the situation and nevertheless maintained a faith that they would prevail in the end.

鈥淲here I鈥檓 optimistic is in our DNA here in this nation. ... We never give up,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I think that鈥檚 the strength of America.鈥�

That is true, he adds, regardless of who controls Washington.

鈥淚鈥檓 not placing my faith in who鈥檚 in office,鈥� says Mayor Williams. 鈥淚鈥檓 placing my faith in the person I鈥檓 standing next to, and we will identify ways to continue to move forward.鈥�

Read the rest of the series here:

Part 1:听Overcoming despair: How a wounded Green Beret came back stronger

Part 2:听With compassion and faith, a mayor leads his city through the opioid crisis

Part 3:听Amid tariffs and floods, a farmer finds hope in the next crop of Kansans

Part 4:听Why America remains a beacon of hope for Liberian refugee

Part 5:听Searching for common ground? Start with the Constitution.

Part 6:听How one African American mom tackles racism head-on