ARC Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Group Receives ARC Grant To Strengthen Community Health

A new grant will help train and place community health workers to strengthen behavioral health systems in 20 W.Va. counties.

Last week, the Community Education Group (CEG) was awarded $7.7 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for their new project, Help Our People Expand the Ecosystem (HOPEE).

This multistate initiative comes from the ARC’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE), which drives economic transformation through collaboration.

For their project, CEG will be working with the Kentucky Rural Health Association (KRHA), Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Kentucky, the West Virginia-based SUD Collaborative (SUDC), and the Virginia Rural Health Association.

Together, CEG and their HOPEE project partners will work to train and place new community health workers to strengthen behavioral healthcare systems in a 56-county region. Twenty West Virginia counties will be included.

According to Executive Director of CEG, A. Toni Young, this project will expand on CEG’s community health worker training program, CHAMPS, which trains individuals with lived experience in substance use disorder recovery to become community health workers.

“So what we wanted to do is to take individuals from towns, hollers, communities networks, and say, if we trained you to do the HIV screening, trained you to do the hepatitis C screening, trained you to do motivational interviewing or networking, could we train people that folks knew and were comfortable with and could listen to,” Young said. “And those folks may be more willing to come back into the community or come back for treatment for HIV or screening for HIV, or for some sort of a medically assisted treatment and management before or some other behavioral health services.”

According to CEG, its overarching goal is to improve socioeconomic disparities in Appalachia while addressing pressing and overlapping syndemics eroding the region’s broader economy, workforce and health outcomes.

A syndemic is two or more illness states interacting poorly with each other and negatively influencing the mutual course of each disease trajectory.

“Many things coming into effect one person, or one community, or one town or one state, that we’re taking a syndemic approach,” Young said. “So rather than saying, we only want to talk to the individuals about substance use disorder, right, we only want to get them to that MAT (Medically Assisted Treatment) provider to deal with substance use, we don’t want to just do that. We want to get them to there to talk about HIV, and when get them there to talk about hepatitis C, and we want to get them there to talk about PrEP.”

CEG said it will work with its partners and health care and behavioral care providers, including Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) providers, will train, hire, and support community health workers. The project will build capacity in communities to address the substance use, HIV, and viral hepatitis syndemic and increase support and infrastructure for health care providers–all while providing coinciding workforce development and job training support.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

Glenville State Researching Economic Development Challenges With ARC

A delegation from Glenville State University is among the 130 students from 10 colleges and universities gathered in Washington D.C. this weekend for an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) research symposium on economic development.

ARC Co-Chair Gayle Manchin said the gathering goes beyond stressing the importance of Appalachia’s academic institutions.

“It’s not just about a class project or about a grade but about the impact that that research can continue to do across the region,” Manchin said.

Ashley Nicholas is majoring in management at Glenville State. Her group’s affordable housing research found challenges in filling job openings in Gilmer and Calhoun Counties. Nicholas said they found faculty and staff vacancies at Glenville State and job openings at the Federal Corrections Institute and Hamilton Hospital related to a lack of working-class housing.

“There’s a lot of dilapidated housing, land hoarding issues that just need to be cleaned up,” Nicholas said. “So that we have the moderately priced income housing that these professionals need to come to the area.”

Other symposium issues under discussion deal with agriculture, tourism, health care and accessibility.

Manchin said finding answers to social problems gives these students a sharper focus on their future.

“Just the fact that they begin to sense that they have a place that they have a role to play in that community is very vital,” she said.

Glenville State’s delegation spoke with Sen. Joe Manchin about the jobs and housing problems. He said he would review their research and asked them to take things a step further.

“He recommended we create a community committee when we get back,” Nicholas said “So it’s not just Glenville State University’s project, it’s a community project.”

Nicholas says that the ‘town and gown’ committee will work with both county commissions to hopefully turn research into a positive reality.

The other student delegation’s participating in the ARC’s 23rd annual Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative (ACRI) symposium include:

Alfred State College, Alfred, New York

Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina

Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama,

East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee

Frostburg State University, Frostburg, Maryland

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania

Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky

Muskingum University, New Concord, Ohio,

Seton Hill University, Greensburg, Pennsylvania

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee

Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia

An ARC press release said that since 2001, nearly 3,000 college and graduate students from 31 colleges and universities across Appalachia have participated in the ACRI. The release said that many students have gone on to careers in economic and community development across the region, applying what they learned in ACRI to strengthen the region.

ARC Grant To Help Rural Communities Access Federal Funding

The $100,000 ARC award will help the counties and the municipalities expand staffing to better utilize, access, and implement available federal funding through both the America Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Fayette, Greenbrier, Nicholas, Pocahontas and Webster Counties are splitting a $100,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

The award will help the counties and the municipalities expand staffing to better utilize, access, and implement available federal funding through both the America Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The commission’s initiative “READY Appalachia” has been working to help underrepresented communities and economically distressed areas increase their capacity to create positive economic change.

ARC is expected to announce additional funding opportunities through READY Appalachia by early 2024.

$18 Million In W.Va. Infrastructure Grants Awaiting Approval

Gov. Jim Justice announced Wednesday more than $18 million in Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant funding recommendations for 11 projects across West Virginia.

The West Virginia Department of Economic Development administers the state’s ARC program, which is a partnership of federal, state, and local participants providing financial and technical assistance for economic development and infrastructure projects.

“We’ll wait and see if they’re all accepted, but I hope they will be and these upgrades are going to be phenomenal,” Justice said.

The governor’s recommendations will now be sent to ARC for final approval.

The grant recommendations include:

WV Rural Water Association — $187,392

Infrastructure Circuit Rider Project

The project will provide funding for a drinking water and wastewater circuit rider to provide technical assistance to water and wastewater systems in the state. The circuit rider will provide assistance and consultation to local utilities in areas such as leak detection work, preventing inflow and infiltration, utility finance and management, water and wastewater system operations, and loan servicing. The project will enable local utilities to address critical issues without having to hire additional staff and promote more efficient operation and management of existing systems.

Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport Authority — $49,483

MRB Air Cargo Market Demand and Feasibility Study

The project will increase economic development in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia (Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson Counties) by conducting an air cargo feasibility study for the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport and an industry sector market analysis for the James Rumsey Technical Institute’s entrepreneurship center.

Lincoln County

Hamlin Public Service District — $3,325,000

Hamlin Sewer Replacement and Upgrade

The project will upgrade the existing storm water and sewer system in the Hamlin area of Lincoln County. In addition, the project will extend sewer service to the Lincoln County Business Park. The existing system currently experiences high rates of inflow and infiltration and is beyond its useful life. The project will benefit 678 existing customers and expand economic development opportunities in the area by extending sewer service to the business park.

Barbour County

Town of Junior — $1,452,000

Junior Water System Improvements

The project will upgrade the existing water distribution system in the town of Junior in Barbour County, including replacing water lines, valves, water meters, and fire hydrants. Many of the town’s water lines are at the end of their useful life and require frequent maintenance to repair breaks and leaks. The project will benefit 396 existing customers

Webster County

Cowen Public Service District — $3,000,000

Birch River Route 82 Water Extension

The project will extend public water service to 60 new customers along Route 82 in Webster County. Customers in the project area use unreliable private wells that run dry or contain high levels of contaminants. The project will provide residents in the area with a source of safe and reliable water and fire service protection.

Braxton County

Flatwoods-Canoe Run PSD — $2,575,000

Holly Gray Park Sewer Extension

The project extends sewer service to 79 new customers along WV Route 15 between the communities of Flatwoods and Sutton in Braxton County. Currently customers in the area use individual septic systems that are failing or discharge directly into nearby streams. The project will also upgrade wastewater facilities at Holly Gray Park, a county-owned park that includes recreational and camping amenities. The project increases quality of life for local residents, improves stream quality, and enhances outdoor recreation development in the area.

Wetzel County

City of New Martinsville — $800,800

AAA Mobile Home Water System Improvements

The project will install a new water distribution system in the AAA Mobile Home Park located in the Steelton area of New Martinsville. The current water distribution system in the park is antiquated and has experienced numerous line breaks and leakage. In addition, the current layout of the distribution system does not afford efficient access for operation, maintenance, and repairs of the system. The project will improve access and service and benefit 240 new customers.

Mingo County

City of Williamson — $4,200,000

Williamson Water System Upgrade

The project will upgrade the water treatment, storage, and distribution system in the City of Williamson in Mingo County. Currently, the system’s storage capacity is insufficient for existing customers and inhibits economic expansion in the area. Operations and maintenance costs are also high due to aging and failing equipment. The project increases water storage capacity and efficiencies in the city’s system and benefits 1,742 existing customers.

Roane County

Walton Public Service District — $2,000,000

Walton Sewer Project

The project will construct a wastewater treatment plant and collection system to serve approximately 115 residential and commercial customers in the Walton area of Roane County, including Walton Elementary School. The project area currently has raw sewage discharging into nearby waterways, and the lack of public sewer inhibits the development of local housing and businesses.

West Virginia Department of Economic Development — $220,000

Consolidated Technical Assistance

The West Virginia Department of Economic Development (WVDED), with ARC funding assistance, will continue the Consolidated Technical Assistance program. The grant allows WVDED to employ staff for providing technical assistance to ARC applicants and grantees, monitoring and administering ongoing projects, drafting and implementing the West Virginia Development Plan, and operating the West Virginia Main Street and ON TRAC programs.

West Virginia Development Office — $250,000

Competitive Improvement Program

The project will provide training and consultation services to small and medium-sized firms in West Virginia to increase their competitiveness. The project will address a unique need for which no other funding sources are available. The results of these services will be a greater number of companies that are increasing the range of their market and market share, and a commensurate increase in the number of jobs retained or created

Fayetteville Selected To Receive Federal Planning Assistance

The program is sponsored by a coalition of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Northern Border Regional Commission.

Fayetteville has been selected as one of 25 towns nationwide for the federal Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program.

Steph Bertaina is senior policy analyst at the EPA and manages the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities program. She said the program aims to help small towns and rural communities boost outdoor recreation opportunities in their community and diversify their economy.

“We’ll be meeting with the community on June 6 and June 7,” Bertaina said. ”We’ve been working with the town of Fayetteville, with trail organizations, with local business owners, the Art Center. Lots of partners have come to the table to want to host this conversation in the community around what the community of Fayetteville would like to see in their future.”

All community members are invited to attend both days of the workshop, which will take place at the American Legion. Participants will collaborate to develop goals and specific actions to strengthen Fayetteville’s outdoor recreation opportunities and community amenities. Interested citizens are encouraged to register to attend the free community planning event.

“This particular program, it’s really planning assistance that’s then aimed to help the community position itself for receiving implementation funds down the line,” Bertaina said. “We’ve had a track record of working with communities on helping them develop these really strong plans, which then can be put in place and hope and help to sort of draw in the funding to make it happen. We really need everyone’s voice at the table so we can hear where everyone wants to take their community moving forward.”

Matt Diederich, Fayetteville’s town manager, says this is an important opportunity to create a plan for improving the town’s infrastructure and connecting it to the New River Gorge while still maintaining the town’s character.

“We want to maintain Fayetteville, we’re known as a cool small town, but also we know we’re lacking some infrastructure to support the recreation economy,” Diederich said. “We’re lacking walkability for our downtown, or even “bikeability” downtown and just connecting with all the great things the National Park has to offer.”

Diederich said that the city has experienced some growing pains since New River Gorge became a National Park in 2020, and city leaders want to get a hold of the situation.

“I think parking is the biggest one,” he said. “The lack of housing, the lack of places to stay. That’s kind of turned housing on its top and created a short-term rental market, we’ve lost family homes for people. I think signage, just to direct people around town. Those are our biggest issues that we’re facing.”

Community and program leaders are looking forward to the June workshops to ensure a vision is put in place that includes all community members

“We’re essentially creating something for the kids. We want the youth there too, because a lot of the things that we’ll put into play they’ll benefit from,” Diederich said. “We want to hear from people of Fayetteville and of the area because, yes, we’re doing stuff for the visitors. But more importantly, we want this to be a place where everybody wants to live and continue to live.”

ARC: 'Billions' Coming To Coal Communities From Feds

Massive economic opportunities are available for rural energy communities according to Gayle Manchin, the co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

Manchin was in Wheeling Wednesday at Northern Community College and met with state and federal leaders representing a variety of government agencies. She and other panelists outlined approximately $200 billion of what was called a “once-in-a-generation investment” targeted at coal-impacted communities.

Increases in funding are anticipated for everything from water and sewage projects, brownfield cleanup, and mineland reclamation, to small business support and regionally collaborative economic development.

“What I find exciting about being here today is that it’s really all about how we can all work together and to see a very strong group from Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania,” Manchin said. She pointed out that the Appalachian region includes 26 million people and 423 counties — rivaling California and Texas.

Manchin said she applauded President Joe Biden’s efforts to infuse Appalachia with financial assistance to help the region transition from coal-dependent to a more diversified economy. Manchin was joined by Brian Anderson, executive director of the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization.

“All of the federal agencies are here to make sure we’re working hand-in-hand with local communities,” Anderson said. He added that the goal is to make sure communities that have been relied upon for national energy independence and security are not left behind as energy trends shift to renewable sources.

Anderson also directs the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. He expects this funding to be allocated through competitive grant programs over the next five years.

Some of the grant opportunities discussed include those provided through: