CHARLESTON -- Governor Joe Manchin III announced this week that he has awarded $412,364 to 19 projects in the state from the Safe and Drug-Free Communities fund.
The purpose of the Safe and Drug-Free Communities Program is to develop and implement community-based drug and violence prevention and resiliency-building programs for youth. Grants may be made to parent groups, school systems, community action and job training agencies, community-based organizations, and other public entities and private non-profit corporations.
Priorities are given to programs and activities for children and youth who do not normally receive these services from state and local educational agencies or populations that need special services or additional resources, such as preschoolers, youth in juvenile detention facilities, runaway or homeless children and youth, pregnant and parenting teenagers, and school dropouts. Also receiving priority are projects that provide special outreach activities aimed at maximizing the participation of community-based organizations that have demonstrated effectiveness in providing services in low-income communities.
The Division of Criminal Justice Services, of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, administers the program from funds received from the U.S. Department of Education under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act.
Funds were awarded to the following:
Barbour
Heart and Hand (RIPPLE) $17,850.00
Funds will provide for an after-school drug and violence prevention program for students at Belington Middle School in Barbour County.
Contact: Jackie Simmons, (304) 823-1889
Cabell
The Huntington West Virginia Housing Authority $15,763.00
Funds will support an after-school substance abuse prevention program for youth living in and around Huntington’s public housing community.
Contact: William Dotson, (304) 526-4400
Greenbrier
Communities in Schools of Southeast West Virginia $25,626.00
Funds will support a school-based drug and violence prevention program for middle school students in Greenbrier County.
Contact: Emily Haas, (304) 647-6434
Harrison
Harrison County Board of Education $25,255.00
Funds will support an after-school program for grades K-5 at Nutter Fort Elementary Learning Center and services for their parents aimed at preventing substance abuse and violence.
Contact: Frank Marino / Terry Jo Morrison, (304) 624-3275
Jefferson
FOCUS Coalition $9,746.00
Funds will provide for a drug and violence prevention program for middle school and high school students in Jefferson County in after-school settings.
Contact: Rhonda Monroe, (304) 725-3433
Kanawha
The Bob Burdette Center, Inc. $23,145.00
Funds will support an after-school substance abuse and violence prevention program for children at four (4) sites on Charleston’s West Side.
Contact: Kim Creel, (304) 342-1158
PRO Kids, Inc. $25,217.00
Funds will provide an after school drug and violence prevention program on Charleston’s East End.
Contact: Jill Woodrum, (304) 346-7005
Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action, Inc. $23,527.00
Funds will continue to implement after-school substance abuse and violence prevention services for children in the Dunbar, Institute, and South Charleston areas at the Harambee Learning Center in Dunbar.
Contact: Angela Dobson, (304) 768-8924
YWCA Sojourner's Shelter for Homeless Women & Families $15,932.00
Funds will be used to provide a violence prevention and drug education program for children residing at the Sojourner’s Shelter for Homeless Women and Families in Charleston.
Contact: Margaret Taylor, (304) 340-3553
Marion
Marion County Family Resource Network $16,934.00
Funds will be used to support substance abuse and violence prevention programs in Marion County.
Contact: Lauren Prinzo, (304) 366-4445
Task Force on Domestic Violence, "HOPE, Inc." $24,128.00
Funds will implement violence prevention programs in six middle/junior high schools in Marion County, as well as the county’s alternative learning center and the shelter.
Contact: Harriet Sutton, (304) 367-1100
Marshall
Marshall County Family Resource Network $25,520.00
Funds will provide substance abuse and violence prevention programming to students in selected schools in Marshall County.
Contact: Latrisha Whitelatch, (304) 845-3300
Benwood - McMechen Housing Authority $13,530.00
Funds will support a violence prevention and social skill-building program to children in grades K-9 at the Benwood – McMechen Housing Authority and surrounding community in Marshall County.
Contact: Vickey Battista, (304) 233-0830
Mercer
Community Connections, Inc. $20,560.00
Funds will support the delivery of the All Stars program to sixth graders and “Students Against Destructive Decisions” (SADD) chapters in high schools in Mercer County.
Contact: Travis Helmondollar, (304) 324-0456
Monroe
Monroe County Board of Education $33,269.00
Funds will be used to support substance abuse and violence prevention programs in Monroe County.
Contact: Judith Azulay, (304) 772-3094
Raleigh
MUSTER Project, Inc. $19,200.00
Funds will implement programs aimed at preventing violence and substance abuse among children and youth at five (5) sites in the Beckley area.
Contact: A. Lee Leftwich, (304) 253-7500
Randolph and Tucker
Women's Aid in Crisis $26,766.00
Funds will provide violence prevention education to Randolph and Tucker County youth and communities via in-school and after-school programs and parent education.
Contact: Heather Fowler, (304) 636-8433
Randolph
Youth Health Service, Inc. $26,194.00
Funds will provide violence prevention programs for children and adolescents in Randolph County schools and at Youth Health Services, as well as parent training and education services.
Contact: Margaret E. Burns, (304) 636-9452
Tucker
Tucker County Family Resource Network $24,202.00
Funds will be used for public awareness, capacity building and implementation of substance abuse and violence prevention programs for youth at targeted schools in Tucker County.
Contact: April R. Miller, (304) 478-3827