First Initial Opportunity opioid mitigation grants awarded | News, Sports, Jobs
CHARLESTON — The first grants for the West Virginia First Foundation’s Initial Opportunity grant program were announced Monday morning, with $10.4 million of the state’s nearly $1 billion in opioid settlement dollars going out the door to governments and non-profits.
The West Virginia First Foundation announced that it granted award requests for 38 organizations across the six regions of the state represented by the foundation for substance use disorder treatment, recovery, and prevention efforts. The award announcements were expected by the end of the year.
“While we committed to announcing awardees before the end of the year, we felt it was important to share this good news ahead of the holiday season,” said Matthew Harvey, WVFF Chairman of the Board. “The holidays can be a challenging time for many, and we hope this announcement reinforces a message of hope, recovery, and progress for West Virginia communities.”
No projects in Hancock or Brooke County were included in Monday’s announcement.
The foundation approved the creation of the Initial Opportunity Grant program in September, receiving more than 174 applications by the close of the Oct. 5 deadline. The Initial Opportunity Grant program set aside $19.2 million, or $800,000 per four target areas to six regions of the state, with up to four awards per target area per region.
Funding approved through the Initial Opportunity Grant program can be used for four areas dealing with the state’s substance use disorder crisis: drug diversion programs and interdiction programs, youth drug prevention and workforce development, child advocacy centers and pregnant/parenting women neonatal abstinence syndrome programs and transitional and/or recovery housing expansion.
Eligibility for the Initial Opportunity Grant program was limited to nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and other kinds of nonprofits and organizations that fulfill a charitable or public purpose.
The applications were reviewed by the foundation’s statewide expert panel, which includes representatives of law enforcement, corrections, the court system, substance use treatment and recovery and health care. The statewide expert panel judged the applications based on scoring rubrics, such as evidence-based strategies, how the programs applying for the grant fit into the foundation’s strategic vision, implementation and sustainability, transparency and fairness and impact and measurability.
Despite rejecting some applications, the foundation urged those organizations that did not receive an Initial Opportunity grant award to reapply and address any application deficiencies so the foundation can award the remaining $8.8 million of the $19.2 million set aside by the foundation for the Initial Opportunity program. Only organizations who submitted applications by the Oct. 5 deadline are eligible to reapply.
“The opioid crisis continues to be a profound challenge for our state, and these funds represent a crucial step in addressing the epidemic with both urgency and care,” said Jonathan Board, WVFF Executive Director. “We’re proud to celebrate the incredible work of our awardees and to support them in creating measurable, sustainable change. At the same time, the Supplemental Round allows us to extend opportunities for even greater impact.”
Some of the largest Initial Opportunity grant awards include: $720,000 for North Star Child Advocacy Center for expansion of child advocacy centers for pregnant/parenting women; $658,800 for the Southern West Virginia Fellowship Home for expansion of transitional and recovery housing; $625,644 for the Berkeley County Commission Diversion and Interdiction Project; $475,174 for Prestera Center for Mental Health Services for its Crisis Intervention Team; and $463,634 for the Wheeling Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team.
The full list of Initial Opportunity grant award recipients can be found at wvfirst.org/grants.
Representatives of the cities and counties involved in opioid litigation — as well as the Attorney General’s Office — agreed to a memorandum of understanding in 2023 to create the West Virginia First Foundation, as well as a formula for distributing settlement awards. The MOU included all 55 counties and more than 220 cities.
Johnson & Johnson, Teva, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Walmart, Allergan and Rite Aid agreed to a $940 million settlement with the state and local governments for their part in manufacturing and distributing prescription opioids to West Virginia, feeding a substance use crisis.
The West Virginia First program will distribute settlement dollars, with 24.5% going to cities and counties, 3% going to the Attorney General’s Office and 72.5% going to the West Virginia First Foundation.
