Both the Ohio County Community Impact Coalition and the Advocates for Substance Abuse Prevention, serving Brooke and Hancock counties, have received $125,000 federal grants to support drug-free efforts.
Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced the Office of National Drug Control Policy has awarded funding to communities throughout West Virginia through the Drug-Free Communities Support Program. This funding will be used to enhance community efforts to combat the drug epidemic in the state by employing environmental strategies and broad initiatives that address each funded community’s specific needs.
In addition to the two Northern Panhandle grants, individual $125,000 awards are designated for efforts in Kanawha, Jackson, Mingo and Morgan counties.
The primary goal of the program is to establish and strengthen community partnerships that support efforts at a local level to prevent substance abuse. Specifically, the grants issued through this program are intended to support community-specific strategies to address local substance use problems.
By tailoring strategies to meet the needs of each community, funded communities have proven to deliver more positive and effective results, according to the senators.
“West Virginia has unfortunately been at the center of drug addiction epidemic that has spread throughout our nation’s communities,” Capito said. “The DFC program is a reliable system that delivers results, which is why I worked diligently on the Senate Appropriations Committee to help secure this funding for our state.”
“The impact substance abuse is having on communities across West Virginia is devastating and we must continue to take steps to end the epidemic,” Manchin said. “We have a responsibility — particularly to our next generation — to curb this abuse, and I applaud those on the ground who are working tirelessly to end the epidemic.”