West Virginia First Foundation, Inc., was created pursuant to the terms, provisions, and principles stated in the West Virginia First Memorandum of Understanding (the “MOU”) entered into amongst the State of West Virginia, counties, cities, villages, and towns located within the geographic boundaries of the State of West Virginia. The MOU directed that the State and Local Governments create a separate and private section 501(c)(3) foundation for the purpose of receiving and disbursing Opioid Funds and other purposes set forth in the MOU, the Foundation’s Articles of Incorporations, and the Foundation’s Bylaws. More specifically, some of the purposes of the Corporation are as follows:
A. To Promote Health and Safety of West Virginians
To promote the health and safety of West Virginians by implementing evidence-based strategies, programming and/or services used to (i) expand the availability of treatment for individuals affected by substance use disorders and/or addiction; (ii) develop, promote and provide evidence-based substance use prevention strategies; (iii) provide substance use avoidance and awareness education; (iv) engage in enforcement to curtail the sale, distribution, promotion or use of opioids and other drugs; and (v) decrease the oversupply of licit and illicit opioids and (vi) to support recovery from addiction to be performed by qualified providers.
B. To Advocate for the Interests of West Virginians
To advocate for the interests of West Virginians by working with the State of West Virginia, and its counties, cities, villages, etc., to determine the best way to provide West Virginians with the programs and services described in Section A above.
C. To Promote a Fully Interoperable Statewide Network
To promote the design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of a fully interoperable statewide network to facilitate the best use of abatement funds and information in West Virginia.
D. To Fund Programs and Services
To fund the programs and services described in Section A above by disbursing through a competitive grant process funds to private organizations and government agencies engaged in such programs.
