WVNCC is the recipient of a nearly $1.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to be awarded over the next four years. Two new academic programs are being created which will help the community tackle the opioid addiction crisis.
West Virginia Northern Community College was one of only 28 institutions across the country to be awarded part of a $12.5 million grant program from the Health Resources and Services Administration and the only Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program (OIFSP) grant recipient in West Virginia. With the funds, WVNCC are creating two new academic programs which will begin classes with its first crop of students in the Fall 2021 semester. The students will gain hands-on training working with families in the community who have been impacted by opioid addiction. The grant will be used to provide tuition assistance to students enrolled in the new programs, and will also fund efforts to provide training opportunities for current behavioral health professionals in the community.
OIFSP is a nation-wide program developed by the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand and improve resources for families, particularly children, who are coping with the mental health issues associated with opioid abuse within their families. West Virginia Northern Community College applied for the grant with a proposal to grow the resources available to the community surrounding the college by creating two new academic programs and by offering additional training opportunities to local behavior health paraprofessionals. The project makes use of established community partnerships to reach the goal of creating a larger and better-educated workforce.
WVNCC will begin instruction in the Fall 2021 semester to students accepted into the new Substance Abuse Intervention Specialist Associates in Science degree program. And in the Spring 2021 semester, classes will begin for students enrolled in the new one-year Substance Abuse Intervention Specialist Technician program. The two-year program is available to anyone interested in a career as an intervention and prevention specialist. The one-year program is open to any individual in recovery who has maintained sobriety for over two years and can lead to a career as a peer recovery support specialist. The benefits to the community of these two new programs are impactful for individuals as well as the community. As WVNCC President Dr. Daniel Mosser recently summed up in a news release, "This grant provides resources to prepare students for careers in substance abuse recovery while assisting people to get their lives back on track. Graduates of Northern will fill a critical role in our communities on front lines in the battle against addiction."
Students in both programs will have access to internships and other in-the-field training with area substance abuse programs. As WVNCC Director of the Substance Abuse Programs, Professor Kathy Herrington put it, "Increasing the number of individuals educated and trained to work with this population is an urgent need in our area and we hope to contribute to the growth of a more qualified workforce to address the problems of individuals and families affected by the opioid crisis." To increase accessibility to the new academic programs, a portion of the grant funding will cover up to $8,000 for eligible participants in tuition and fee assistance and stipends for living expenses.