It’s no secret that West Virginia has long ranked high for its rate of tobacco use. In fact, the state currently leads the nation in adults who smoke cigarettes, with over a quarter of the population using cigarettes every day or some days. As tobacco prevention advocates work to lower the adult smoking rate, some are shifting their approach and looking at the ways in which youth first use tobacco. New research on youth tobacco use has exposed vaping as a key gateway to smoking and a growing … [Read more...]

Youth who age out of the foster care system often experience homelessness, poverty, addiction, and incarceration resulting from a lack of support during their transition to independent living. According to the National Foster Youth Institute, 20% of children in foster care will instantly become homeless at age 18, and one of every two will develop substance use disorder. Less than 3% will earn a college degree, and 60% of males will be convicted of a crime. The team at Stepping Stones, Inc., … [Read more...]

Strong and sustained recovery from substance use disorder requires frequent access to transportation for medical treatment and services, as well as employment opportunities for long-term financial stability. However, affordable, safe, and reliable transportation can be difficult to obtain, creating a barrier to recovery. To improve access and reduce transportation barriers, Recovery Point West Virginia developed the Routes to Recovery program, which provides free transportation services … [Read more...]

The Marshall University Community Oral Health Team and Recovery Point West Virginia have teamed up to restore healthy smiles to men recovering from substance use disorder and addiction. Recovering with a Smile is an innovative program funded by a Core Priorities grant from the Pallottine Foundation of Huntington that provides free, comprehensive dental care to men at Recovery Point’s Huntington campus. Oral health care is essential to successful substance use recovery for many reasons. It not … [Read more...]

The Big Idea Camp was created in 2015 when Founder Jeremy Holbrook realized that many schools had eliminated arts and humanities programs and shifted their focus to state testing scores and the curriculum that fueled them. The change eliminated many of the subjects that promoted character development and leadership skills, which Holbrook believed to be essential for school-aged children. To fill the gap in learning, The Big Idea Camp adopted the award-winning program Core Essentials and began … [Read more...]

In its 54-year history, the Kanawha Valley Fellowship Home (KVFH) in Charleston, West Virginia, has helped more than 2,000 men recover from alcohol and substance use disorder through an abstinence-based, residential treatment program. KVFH provides a secure environment in which residents can begin a new life by breaking destructive patterns of behavior associated with alcoholism and addiction. The organization consists of a main house with 15 individual bedrooms, six intermediate care … [Read more...]

For more than 30 years, the Childhood Language Center (CLC) in Charleston, West Virginia, has provided speech, language, and feeding therapy to help children communicate. The center, which was founded by the Scottish Rite Masons, operates on the belief that all children deserve the highest quality care possible regardless of their ability to pay. Nationally certified therapists at the center work with children who have speech and language delays, hearing impairment, autism, Asperger’s, Down … [Read more...]

Golden Girl Group Home in Ceredo, West Virginia, has provided a safe place for abused, neglected, and orphaned teenage girls in West Virginia since 1983. Golden Girl uses a holistic approach to address the behavioral, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual needs of each resident. Girls ages 12 to 18 live in a safe, nurturing environment where they can develop skills to become empowered, successful women. Golden Girl consists of five separate houses on the same block, with four to five … [Read more...]

Williamson Health & Wellness Center (WHWC) in Williamson, West Virginia, has become an anchor organization in the southern part of the state, working to drive community health improvement through collaboration with economic development initiatives and health care and education programs. WHWC serves a predominately low-income population in Mingo County, which has been deemed one of the unhealthiest and most distressed counties in the state. The center operates primary care clinics, … [Read more...]

One organization in our area is making lives better. Founded in 1983, the Facing Hunger Foodbank serves 17 counties in the Tri-State: 12 in West Virginia, four in Kentucky and one in Lawrence County, Ohio. The foodbank provides nutritious fresh, canned, boxed, frozen, and prepared food to nearly 118,000 local individuals on an annual basis. When items are donated or purchased and arrive at the foodbank, the warehouse staff inspects the items for quality. Then, they sort and repack the … [Read more...]