Opioid Recovery Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

First Foundation Offers Another Chance For Prevention And Recovery Grants

The foundation responsible for distributing West Virginia’s opioid settlement funds is giving applicants a second chance to obtain funding to fight the state’s drug epidemic.

Updated on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 at 4 p.m.

The foundation responsible for distributing West Virginia’s opioid settlement funds is giving applicants a second chance to obtain funding to fight the state’s drug epidemic.

Of the 174 applications received, the West Virginia First Foundation approved awards amounting to $10.4 million in Initial Opportunity Grants at its annual meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12.

“Each applicant will be hearing from us, those that are approved,” Jonathan Board, the Foundation’s executive director said. “They’ll be hearing from us individually. They will have an agreement to go through and confirm, and once that is conducted, certainly we will notify the public and everyone else of that acceptance and are just very excited.”

While the application period for the Foundation’s first grant cycle ended on Oct. 5, the Foundation will hold a “supplemental round” for applicants who met the deadline but were not awarded funding.

“This would give those applicants who maybe were just short, an opportunity to cure their application,” Board said. “If they were, for example, missing articles of incorporation, they could make sure that, that was sorted.”

The Foundation allotted $19.2 million to this grant cycle in September. During the supplemental round, the foundation will work with applicants to award the remaining $8.8 million, reaching its original goal for this grant cycle.

The 2024 Initial Opportunity Grants focused on four target areas that were identified by the Initial Opportunity Committee, formed during August’s board meeting. Those four areas are considered critical in the fight against the opioid crisis and are prioritized for funding.

The 2024 Initial Opportunity Grants focused on four areas deemed critical in the fight against the opioid crisis: diversion and interdiction programs, youth prevention and workforce development, child advocacy centers and PPW (Pregnant and Postpartum Women) Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) programs, and transitional/recovery housing expansion.

In an email, Danin Cather, the Foundation’s chief marketing officer said details on individual awardees will be provided in the coming weeks after all required paperwork has been signed and awardees have formally accepted.

“The applications for the Initial Opportunity Grants went through a rigorous review process by the Initial Opportunity Committee and Expert Panel, using a detailed scoring rubric that was outlined in the application process,” Cather wrote. “The recommendations from these reviews were presented to the Board, and the Board voted on the total funding amounts to allocate to each target area.

During the annual meeting, board Treasurer, Jeff Sandy presented the Foundation’s most up-to-date financial information.

“This is for the period ending Nov. 30, 2024,” Sandy said. “The income to-date from the First Foundation’s investments is $10,163,387.37. The expenses to date (are) $1,250,039.30. Funds that are available to the Foundation are $226,413,248.07.”

The board voted to approve and publish the financial report ending on Nov. 30, 2024, to its website within 24 hours.

West Virginia is expected to receive about $1 billion after all its opioid settlement lawsuits are paid out.

The board also elected officers for 2025. Those elected were:

● Chair: Matthew Harvey
● Vice-Chair: Dr. Matthew Christiansen
● Treasurer: Jeff Sandy
● Secretary: Dora Stutler

**Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include the West Virginia First Foundation’s November 2024 Financial Report.

Martinsburg Panel Outlines Goals For Opioid Settlement Fund Distribution

Representatives with the West Virginia First Foundation — a nonprofit the state tasked with distributing roughly three-quarters of West Virginia’s opioid settlement payments — traveled to Martinsburg this week to voice their vision for disbursing the funds.

The Stubblefield Institute for Civil Politics, an affiliate of Shepherd University, hosted the Thursday evening panel. West Virginia First Foundation Executive Director Jonathan Board told attendees that the foundation aims to be transparent, with funds targeting different aspects of recovery, from individual to community-level interventions.

“We understand where this money comes from,” he said. “We understand the gravity of this and that every dollar, every every dime, every penny we have represents those loved ones that aren’t with us anymore.”

Speakers at the panel said the organization’s founding guidelines promote transparency, requiring them to report where funds are distributed. Roughly one-quarter of the state’s settlement money goes directly to county governments, which they said helps broaden the geographic extent of support.

These reporting and distribution guidelines also have “an effect on making sure that those monies are going for appropriate uses,” said Matthew Harvey, West Virginia First Foundation chair and prosecuting attorney for Jefferson County.

Tim Czaja, a regional director of the West Virginia First Foundation and the Berkeley County community corrections director, said the foundation also sees a need for public education on substance use disorder and recovery.

He cited pushback from state lawmakers against needle exchange programs as an example of misunderstanding that can harm the recovery process.

“I think providing some education to the legislature over time would be really valuable,” he said.

Panelists agreed that engaging with community leaders and members of the public would remain central to their funding distribution efforts.

The West Virginia First Foundation was legally recognized by the state in 2023. By next month, the foundation will award its first round of funding to diversion and recovery programs statewide, totaling millions of dollars.

To listen to the full forum online, visit the Panhandle News Network’s Spotify page.

ARC Awards Millions To Address Substance Use Disorder

The investments aim to address the impact of substance use disorder in Appalachia by supporting projects that create or expand services in the recovery ecosystem leading to workforce entry and re-entry.

Money for projects to address substance use disorder in West Virginia is coming from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

The ARC has awarded nearly $11.5 million for close to 40 projects in nine states. The money is awarded through ARC’s Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems (INSPIRE) Initiative. It aims to address the impact of substance use disorder (SUD) in Appalachia with investments in projects that create or expand services in the recovery ecosystem leading to workforce entry and re-entry.

In West Virginia, seven projects will receive close to half a million dollars each, for a total award of $3.5 million.

Projects include a mentorship program for at-risk young women, opioid recovery and workforce reentry programs for those in recovery.

Region 4 Development Council in Summersville, West Virginia, for the Therapeutic Landscapes and Aquaculture—Workforce
Williamson Health & Wellness Center in Williamson, West Virginia, for the New Heights Recovery Continuum project.
Libera, Inc., in Morgantown, West Virginia, for the Expansion of Libera Mentorship Program for At-Risk Young Women in WV.
Marshall University Research Corporation in Huntington, West Virginia, for the LevelUP Program.
Rural Appalachian Improvement League, Inc.,(RAIL) in Mullens, West Virginia, for the Remote Readiness Resource Network, R (3) N project.
Randolph County Housing Authority in Elkins, West Virginia, for the Cultivating Recovery Employment and Training Education (CREATE)
The REACH Initiative in Charleston, West Virginia, for the WV REACHback Recovery / Reentry Navigator Program project.

“Substance use disorder is a region-wide epidemic that impacts Appalachian families and community workforces,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin in a press release. “I commend our 2024 INSPIRE grantees for their dedication in helping Appalachians who have struggled with substance use disorder regain a sense of hope and purpose by enabling them to rejoin their communities, bolster workforce development, and make positive impacts on the region.”

Foundation Director Challenges Opioid Settlement Board To Distribute Funds Before 2025

The executive director of the organization responsible for dispersing West Virginia’s opioid settlement funds challenged board members to award funds by the end of the year.

The board that manages the state’s opioid settlement funds moved one step closer to distributing funds this week.

Through settlements from various lawsuits with opioid manufacturers and distributors, West Virginia stands to gain about $1 billion over the next 10 to 15 years to be spent on recovery and prevention programs.

In March 2023, the West Virginia Legislature established the West Virginia First Foundation, a private nonprofit organization, to handle 72.5 percent of the state’s settlement funds. Another 24.5 percent of settlement money will go to local governments, whilehe remaining three percent will be held by the state in escrow to cover any outstanding attorney’s fees.

The Legislature required that the Foundation have a board seated, an executive director hired, banking set up, and more before it could begin distributing funds.

The board appointed members of its Statewide Expert Panel, as required by the legislature, at its monthly meeting Thursday Aug. 1.

The panel includes state leaders who will help guide funding decisions and develop a comprehensive approach to addressing West Virginia’s struggles with opioids and substance use disorders.

The board opened its August meeting by introducing the panelists who were able to attend the call before voting to approve its members.

Members of the panel include:

Emily Birckhead, the executive director of the West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences
Adam Crawford, a director for the general division emergency department of Charleston Area Medical Center
Jess Grundy, a criminal justice program director at the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security
Laura Lander, an associate professor of behavioral medicine and psychiatry at West Virginia University
William Marshall, a commissioner for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitations
Christina Mullins, the deputy secretary of mental health and substance use disorders at the West Virginia Department of Human Service
Greg Puckett, a Mercer County commissioner and director for nonprofit Community Connections.

The inaugural term of the expert panel, who are volunteers, will run through the end of the year.

Next on the agenda, Executive Director of the Foundation, Jonathan Board reported his accomplishments since taking on the role in May before challenging the Foundation to award funds by the end of the year.

“The reality is the foundation has existed for a year, and I know there’s still a lot to accomplish, but I’d like to challenge the foundation to get money out reasonably between November and December of this year,” Board said.

Several members of the foundation’s board also expressed frustration with the time it is taking for the foundation to award money, while others expressed concerns about being flooded with applications and that the state’s needs assessment has not been completed.

Mayor of Parkersburg, Tom Joyce called the pace of the Foundation “glacial” and said while he recognizes the Foundation has to be careful, the need is urgent.

“What if the mother of all recovery programs has something and we say, “Well, sorry, you guys, you sit tight, we’ll be ready for you first quarter of next year,” Joyce said. “I mean, I think we just need to kind of bite the bullet and prepare ourselves. The expert panel, they signed up for it, right? They all seemed excited. Or, you know, appreciative and eager. So maybe there’s going to be a lot a lot of applications.”

Joyce explained that the programs that will eventually receive the settlement money will need time to plan for their own finances and grant applications.

“It’s frustrating me because folks that at least in this region want to know, ‘When can I make an application to expand my program? When can I make an application to start a new program?’ And all I can tell them is ‘Well, we got a meeting next week, we’ll see,” Joyce said.

Berkeley County Community Corrections Director and board member, Tim Czaja said he understands the need to distribute the money properly but agreed with Joyce and said his constituents have been asking about timelines.

“I have a lot of people who are here on me, asking regularly, ‘What’s going on, what’s happening? When can we request funds?’ And I keep having to say, ‘I’m not sure yet. We don’t have a concrete plan in place. There’s a lot of work that has to be done,’” Czaja said. “I recognize that this does need to be done very thoughtfully and appropriately and we don’t want to just be throwing money out the door just because we feel like we want to do it. It needs to be done properly. So I trust that you’re gonna put in work needed to make it happen appropriately.”

After an hour of discussion, Board suggested a committee be formed to assist in a short-term funding project.

“A group that could sort of work with the expert panel and myself and review themselves, the work product that’s being produced, that would be a great assistance and blessing to me,” Board said.

The board created The Initial Opportunity Committee to develop a short-term, one-time disbursement process, while the organization works to meet the rest of its legislative mandates and create the full application process.

“The idea is to create an out-of-system process to get money out in the next coming months,” said Attorney for the Foundation, John Bshara. “So what’s after that takes place, then the needs based assessment process will be used and that was the subsequent discussion about the needs-based assessment will take a long period of time to develop. So the idea is this interim policy that will probably be used one time, will be used in order to get money out the door more quickly.”

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

W.Va. Peer Recovery Support Specialist Wins National Award

A peer recovery support specialist at a Marshall-based recovery program has won the Cornerstone Award.

The award honors an individual or organization that has gone above and beyond to support students in recovery.

Aaron Blankenship is a West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network (WVCRN) team member and recovery support specialist at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.

“Through his unwavering dedication and tireless efforts, Aaron Blankenship exemplifies the essence of the ARHE Cornerstone Award for Student Support,” said Dr. Pamela Alderman, president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. “His commitment to going above and beyond in supporting students in recovery transforms lives and serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration for our community. We celebrate Aaron’s profound impact and recognize him as a cornerstone of support for those navigating the recovery journey.”

The WVCRN is housed within the Marshall University Research Corporation with support from the Marshall University Center of Excellence for Recovery.

Blankenship will accept his award at the National Collegiate Recovery Conference in San Diego, California this summer.

According to one of his peers, Hattie Newsome, student success coordinator for Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Blankenship’s own recovery gave him the empathy and drive to work passionately with students and the recovery community.

“He inspires those in recovery by showing them they can achieve sobriety, goals and their dreams can come true,” she said.

Recovery Day Draws Crowds At W.Va. Capitol

Advocates and recovery experts filled the capitol rotunda on Monday to educate lawmakers about substance use disorder.

One of the big issues facing people in recovery is reintegrating into society.

Nic Cochran is the director of Youth Services System, an organization that helps people in recovery reintegrate into society after incarceration or treatment at a rehab facility.

“We exclusively work with people who have a substance use disorder,” Cochran said. “But yes, recovery is a broad term because we also have to talk about reentry, the impacts of incarceration on the people with SUD (substance use disorder) is massive, we see so many people incarcerated.”

In a partnership with recovery homes and Uplift West Virginia, Youth Services System displayed a memorial to the people in the state lost to overdose.

“So we’re inviting people to write the names of anyone lost to overdose on the bricks, or to light a candle if they don’t feel comfortable writing the name,” Cochran said. “But the candles are also representing somebody who we wish was in recovery, or maybe somebody who used to be in recovery, or, or even people who are still in recovery, and we just want to celebrate that.”

Cochran said a big part of Recovery Day is to be a visible example for lawmakers to break down stigma.

“Substance use disorder is criminalized so heavily,” Cochran said. “We really need additional support in order to recover, in order to have treatment and to be rehabilitated so that we can become contributing members of society. So if I had anything to say to legislators, that’s what it would be, you know, we’re people, please treat us like people. And let’s get over the stigma.”

The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute was also featured at Recovery Day. Their receptionist, Rhiannon Wiseman, said she was there to educate the public and lawmakers about the One Box.

“The One Box is an opioid overdose response kit. You open it up, it’ll walk you through an overdose step by step,” Wiseman said. “Now whether you, a lot of people, can’t respond to an overdose or any traumatic circumstances – they kind of freak out. There’s no guesswork. It walks you right through it.”

Wiseman said it is important to have harm reduction resources like One Box available everywhere.

“Opioid overdose can happen absolutely anywhere in homes, businesses, schools, libraries, doctor’s office, it doesn’t matter,” Wiseman said. “They happen everywhere now.”

Wiseman added that Naloxone, or Narcan, is safe for everyone and encouraged others to be trained in administering the opioid overdose reversal drug.