Jul. 4—MORGANTOWN — The Monongalia County Commission has concluded its second round of opioid grant funding, announcing seven awards totaling $454, 900.
The funds being distributed are provided to the county annually as its cut of the “local government shares ” of roughly $1 billion in opioid settlement dollars awarded to the state. Those local shares are provided to counties and municipalities for direct use, reimbursement of opioid abatement activities or, as in the county’s case, suballocation.
To date, the county has received a total of $1, 366, 277.79 in two installments—$1, 019, 972.52 on Jan. 12, 2024, and $346, 304 on Jan. 31. It’s now approved the distribution of $1, 081, 800, leaving a balance of $284, 477.31.
Commissioner Sean Sikora said the commission provided funds to each of the seven agencies that applied this year, though not necessarily the full request amount.
“We had $757, 667 requested, and we approved $454, 900, which is about 60 % of what was requested, ” he said. “But out of the seven, we approved at least part of all of them.”
The agencies receiving funding are:—Lauren’s Wish Addiction Triage Center, $100, 000—Wise Path Recovery Center, $100, 000—Morgantown Area Youth Services Project, $60, 000—Jacob’s Ladder Assistance Fund, $56, 200—Monongalia County Health Department, $55, 000—Mon EMS, $43, 700—Libera Inc., $40, 000 With the exception of Jacob’s Ladder, each of the recipients also received grant funding from the county during its 2024 allocation. Last July, the commission distributed $626, 900 to 13 of the 18 agencies that applied.
Of the opioid settlement funding coming to West Virginia, 72.5 % will be distributed as grants at the state level through the West Virginia First Foundation, 24.5 % goes to local governments and 3 % stays with the state.
The West Virginia First Foundation has thus far completed one grant cycle, distributing nearly $17 million to 94 projects across West Virginia.
Of that amount, roughly $3.4 million went to 21 recipients /projects in the 13-county Region 4, which includes Monongalia, Marion and Preston counties.
In Monongalia County, a number of agencies have received grant awards from the West Virginia First Foundation and at least one allocation from the county. Those agencies, and total amount received, are:—Morgantown Sober Living, $440, 000—Lauren’s Wish, $305, 850.71—Libera Inc., $228, 120.06—Monongalia County Health Department, $199, 528.17—Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center, $165, 620.70 Wise Path Recovery Center has received a total of $225, 000 in two county allocations. Morgantown Area Youth Services Project has received a total of $120, 000 in two county allocations.