State and local recovery leaders urge regional grant applications, highlight prevention work at Elkins forum

State and local recovery leaders visiting Elkins urged local organizations to apply for regional grants and described early gains in cross-agency coordination at a community forum.

Josh Barker, director of substance abuse prevention and outreach for the West Virginia Attorney General's Office, and Dr. Steven Lloyd, a physician and the office's drug-policy adviser, said task-force work and improved referrals have reduced wait times for treatment beds and helped more people enter care. "When people get out of treatment, most of them don't have a home to go to," Barker said, describing housing and reentry as a major barrier to sustained recovery.

Dr. Lloyd framed community and relationship as central to recovery: "The opposite of addiction is not recovery. It's community and relationship," he said, adding that prevention, transportation and juvenile services remain gaps. He and Barker noted that the state has lost several women's treatment facilities and urged investment in housing and certified recovery programs as part of the continuum of care.

Travis Bennett, chief of police for the city of Elkins and a member of the West Virginia 1st Foundation Region 4 expert panel, said his panel reviewed roughly 26 grant applications across 13 counties and that the foundation has large allocations available. "I wanna see as much of that money come to our region as absolutely possible," Bennett said, and he encouraged local groups to watch the foundation's announcements and apply.

Speakers clarified funding sources and eligibility: meeting participants said the state received roughly $1.2 billion in opioid-settlement funds, that a portion was allocated to the West Virginia 1st Foundation and that other allocations went to municipalities and county commissions. Organizers said WAVR-certified recovery housing is often prioritized for opioid-related grant funding.

Prevention programming was also emphasized. The forum included discussion of the Icelandic model for youth prevention — an approach that brings entire communities together to set priorities and activities for young people — and a task-force member said the region will participate in the state's Sequential Intercept Model mapping initiative (SIMI) to identify service gaps across the justice and treatment systems.

Residents and peer specialists credited the task force with improving informal referral networks: Ryan Marsteller, outreach coordinator for Catholic Charities, said the group has shortened waits and created stronger referral pathways to beds and services. The panel closed by urging local collaboration and continued participation in upcoming grant cycles.