West Virginia Prevention Solutions Region 4 Newsletter

8/4/2021

The unprecedented changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic presented West Virginia Prevention Solutions (WVPS) with new and complicated hurdles; however, the agency adapted through digital marketing, direct outreach, developing new contacts, and supporting schools. Through this modified approach, WVPS developed social marketing campaigns focused on mental wellness, safe storage and disposal of medication, and harm reduction. These ads reached audiences at higher than the national averages in click through rates and referrals to support.

WVPS partnered with local agencies who serve our most vulnerable populations and reached 12,000 individuals in an older-adult outreach care package project. WVPS was a leader in regional events hosted virtually, with more than eleven well-attended events where participants could earn continuing education credits. School systems, faced with overwhelming burden, became even more important in reaching and ensuring that students could feel safe and supported while uncertainty raged around them. WVPS supported these young people by delivering social emotional learning curricula and support supplies, provided teachers with the training needed to implement those supplies, and offered unrivaled technical assistance through web-based platforms and teleconferencing. Through these efforts, 11 new locations received evidence-based programs and supplies.

WVPS provided stigma reduction training to pharmacists in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University and provided stigma reduction training to three new Project AWARE grant recipients in Harrison County. WVPS-supported community coalitions offered direct mail options for drug disposal options, including Deterra drug disposal packets. These community-based groups also partnered with food distribution sites to provide information and administer a region-wide survey which garnered over 3,000 responses, enabling our agency to grasp the magnitude of substance use during the pandemic. Community readiness assessments were conducted in 12 out of 13 of Region 4 counties, and alcohol outlet mapping and environmental scans were a large part of data gathering during the restrictions of COVID-19. WVPS partners and staff participated in DEA’s National Rx Drug Take Back Day by promoting and even staffing some of the take back sites region-wide.

While many restrictions this year required change, WVPS remained a constant and reliable presence in our communities and strengthened existing partnerships along with forming many new ones along the way. WVPS is proud of its efforts to help our community in evolving, interesting ways every day.

Contact Information

Elizabeth Shahan- WVPSDirector@gmail.com