photo by: Shelley Hanson

Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger talks to members of the West Virginia First Foundation about how opioid settlement funds have helped create a Crisis Response Unit, leading to decreased drug overdoses and crime in the city.

WHEELING — Members of the West Virginia First Foundation — the organization that distributes opioid settlement money within the Mountain State — learned Thursday about the positive impact its funding is having on the city of Wheeling’s crime rates.

Wheeling Police Department Chief Shawn Schwertfeger conducted a presentation about how the department has used its share, $463,633, and the positive impact it is having on reducing crime as well as saving lives in the city.

A portion of the funding has been used to create a Crisis Response Unit for the department. The unit responds with police officers to drug overdoses and other calls related to mental illness and homelessness to help counsel people and get them the resources they need. Members of the unit on hand for Thursday’s event included Unit Supervisor Yolanda Mwikisa, Victim Advocate Samantha Baker and Peer Liaison Sarah Burkhart.

“We make sure anytime, day or night, that there is an overdose we’re having a soft hand-off — an introduction to an embedded peer or someone from behavioral health,”

photo by: Shelley Hanson

Some members of the Crisis Response Unit pose at the Wheeling Police Department on Thursday. From left are Unit Supervisor Yolanda Mwikisa, Peer Liaison Sarah Burkhart and Victim Advocate Samantha Baker.

Schwertfeger said.

Schwertfeger said all officers also undergo 40 hours of specialized training on how to better deal with people suffering from drug addiction, mental illness, homelessness and other issues. Learning how to de-escalate situations, such as someone threatening suicide, is a big part of the training. The training has been offered to other local departments and first responders.

Since implementing its Crisis Intervention Team program, the department continues to see big drops in annual drug overdoses and crime in the city.

For example, drug overdoses hit 231 back in 2020. This year, as of Dec. 1, overdoses have dropped to 82. Deaths from drug overdoses have also declined from 28 in 2021 to nine as of Dec. 1, 2025. And most categories of crime have decreased between 36% and 4%, comparing 2023 to 2024 statistics.

Schwertfeger said he had no idea how quickly the statistics would improve with the implementation of the response unit.

“Of course, I look brilliant now,” he quipped. “But I didn’t foresee this or project this.”

He noted the CIT training has also created a positive culture change for the department.

Jonathan Board, executive director of the West Virginia First Foundation, said CIT is fairly new in West Virginia and the Wheeling Police Department was one of the first to receive funding to implement it.

“From the chief, to the team to the engagement with the providers in this region, that is something that is unique. The camaraderie here is so strong,” Board said. “It’s one thing to talk in the ether, it’s another to see the actual data showing … the success of this program. It stands out and we want to highlight that.”

Board noted the visit to the Wheeling Police Department coincided with the WVFF’s annual meeting held Thursday at Oglebay Park. During that meeting, they voted to advance the foundation’s Momentum Initiative Grant with a total funding allocation of $18 million. The WVFF will visit other departments in the future as part of its Hold the Line tour.