WASHINGTON, D.C. (WVVA) - Three area agencies are receiving grants aimed at preventing alcohol and illicit substance abuse among youth.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.VA., who is Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS, announced today she has secured funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to support Prevention Empowerment Partnerships.

Community Connections of Princeton, Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center of Princeton and the McDowell County Commission on Aging in Welch will each receive $125,000 from the ONDCP funding.

The money will be used to “empower youth to lead comprehensive prevention strategies designed to prevent underage drinking, marijuana and other illicit substance use.”

“Funding like this is important when it comes to continuing our efforts to help keep communities across our state free of drugs and alcohol. These grants can help set up entire generations of West Virginians for success, and I look forward to seeing the impact they will have in the area,” Capito said.

In the announcement, Capito also outlined about $18 million in funding from a number of federal agencies to assist victims of crime, revitalize brownfields, foster small business growth, strengthen rural veterinarian programs, enhance mental health resources, increase food safety, and help fund a variety of research programs at West Virginia University (WVU).

That funding included:

$7,472,022 in DOJ Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding to GO33 Justice & Community Services (Charleston, W.Va.) to fund victim compensation.

$2,222,109 in HHS funding to WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) for pharmacology, physiology, and biological chemistry research.

$2,000,000 in NSF EPSCoR funding to WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) for neurological quantum sensing research.

$1,975,560 in HHS funding to First Choice Services, Inc. (Charleston, W.Va.) for a project titled “Cooperative Agreement to Support Navigators in Federally- Facilitated Exchange.”

$829,795 in EPA funding to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV DEP) (Charleston, W.Va.) to help assess, clean up, and revitalize brownfield sites in West Virginia.

$809,896 in DOJ funding to GO33 Justice & Community Services (Charleston, W.Va.) for services assisting victims of sexual assault.