(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

PARKERSBURG — Community advocacy groups dedicated to addressing poverty, incarceration and overdose deaths will host a series of community listening sessions around the state ahead of the start of the West Virginia Legislature convening on Feb. 12.

The local session will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley’s Synergy Center, 715 16th St., Parkersburg. It will be hosted by Jobs & Hope West Virginia.

Called the West Virginia Listening Project: Stories for Change, the events are organized by American Friends Service Committee, with the support of the Hope in Action Alliance Inc., The Reach Initiative and the West Virginia Criminal Law Reform Coalition. The stated goal of the events is to highlight the stories of those directly affected by these interconnected situations, as well as the policy solutions the Legislature could consider during the 2025 session to help families living in poverty and reduce barriers to reentry and the overdose death rate.

People can register for local listening sessions online at https://secure.afsc.org/a/wv-listening-project.