Senators announce $285,000 for Preston-Taylor Community Health

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on Friday announced $35 million will go through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address substance abuse in West Virginia. Of that amount, $285,000 will be allocated to Preston-Taylor Community Health Centers Inc. 

Funding comes through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration, and will support the expansion of treatment services, strengthening community efforts to fight the opioid epidemic. 

The increased funding through SAMHSA’s State Opioid Response Grants program is the result of a measure Capito authored and Manchin supported to prioritize funds for states hit hardest by the drug crisis. Without this language and based on previous formulas, West Virginia would have received half the amount received this year through the program. 

“The opioid epidemic has devastated families and communities across West Virginia,” Capito said. “While we have made significant progress in this fight, it is important that we help deliver even more resources to help continue, expand and strengthen our efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. I have long argued that states hardest hit by the epidemic, like West Virginia, should receive additional resources, and I am thrilled that I was able to help boost the amount of funding our state and others like ours will receive. Moving forward, I will continue to work with my colleagues and local leaders on the ground to end this epidemic and help those West Virginians struggling with addiction.” 

“Recent polling shows half of West Virginia residents have a friend or family member who has been addicted to opioids. The polling confirmed what we have known for a while: This epidemic does not discriminate and impacts every demographic across our state. This funding will support our ongoing efforts to bring an end to the suffering the opioid epidemic has brought to West Virginia. To finally end this epidemic we need a multi-pronged approach and I am proud that this funding supports that. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue advocating for these resources,” Manchin said.