photo by: Emma Delk

Marshall County Administrator Betsy Frohnapfel describes the Marshall County Commission’s role in distributing opioid settlement funding during a meeting Friday.

MOUNDSVILLE — City leaders and local nonprofit representatives gathered on Friday to discuss how to distribute Moundsville’s share of opioid settlement money properly during the first meeting of the Moundsville Opioid Subcommittee.

Moundsville Mayor Sara Wood-Shaw formed the subcommittee after the city received the first funding distribution from the settlement of $216,000. Wood-Shaw said the city has “multiple yearly allotments coming down the pipeline.”

Wood-Shaw outlined before spending any settlement funding, she wanted to gather city leadership and service providers working with individuals struggling with addiction “day in and day out” to discuss how to distribute the funding.

“A lot of the information shared will be new for some city council members,” Wood-Shaw noted. “They haven’t worked in this realm before, so we want to make sure everyone understands who is doing what work in our community, what’s already covered and where the gaps in services may be.”

City representatives at Friday’s meeting included Wood-Shaw, Vice-Mayor David Wood, City Manager Rick Healy and council member Eugene Saunders. Marshall County Administrator Betsy Frohnapfel was also present to receive feedback regarding how the Marshall County Commission should distribute its opioid funding.

The Marshall County Commission currently has $601,608 in its opioid fund. The commission’s original distribution was $588,490, and the fund accrued more money due to interest.

Local organizations represented at the meeting were Catholic Charities, Northwood Health Systems, Court Appointed Special Advocates, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, RISE Substance Abuse Prevention, Youth Services System, the Young Women’s Christian Associates, the Marshall County Family Resource Network and the Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless.

Discussion of the current gaps in services in the area took up the bulk of the meeting. Service providers were in agreement the funding should go towards providing services for which they could not obtain financing as an organization.

Northwood Health Systems Director Jeremy Sagun presented providing transportation between different service providers and employment incentives for local businesses to hire people with substance use disorders as two ways the city could assist individuals struggling with addiction that service providers did not have the ability to obtain funding for.

“I think the city is in a unique position to leverage some of its resources to help with transportation that wouldn’t necessarily come through the West Virginia First Foundation,” Sagun said. “I would have transportation at the highest on my list.”

The creation of a city peer support specialist position funded through the settlement was also discussed during the meeting. Lauren Kotz, YSS Region One State Opioid Response Program Administrator, suggested the individual would not work for a specific service provider but would instead be able to refer individuals to multiple service providers in the area.

“If the City of Moundsville has their own peer support specialist, they wouldn’t have to worry about the double billing of services or things like that,” Kotz noted. “They would be able to work with organizations and bridge the gap between all the different services in the area.”

Following the meeting, Wood-Shaw said city officials may conduct additional meetings with service providers to ensure the city is “on the right track” regarding their thoughts on the funding.

Wood-Shaw added city leaders would meet with county officials and West Virginia First Foundation regional representatives to learn more about the “rules, regulations and process” of funding distribution.

“This is just a small subcommittee of council members, but we will share this information with the full council,” Wood-Shaw said. “After these upcoming council meetings, hopefully, we can plan where to go from here with the funding.”