Jenny Keener, Heart and Hand's community outreach coordinator, stands in the service agency's food pantry, at 212 D Street, South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, on July 30, 2025.
St. Albans' fire marshal, Lt. Chris Collins, holds a package of Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, which can revive people suffering from an opioid overdose, on July 31, 2025. In front of him is a "first-out bag," which includes an automatic electronic defibrillator and other tools used to help those overdosing. In the background is St. Albans Fire Chief Lance Carney. He's standing beside a 2024 Dodge Ram 1500 truck used for early emergency responses. The vehicle was purchased with opioid settlement funds.
South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä resident Olivia Shelton (left), 11, and her grandmother, JoAnn Dotson, shop Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, at Heart and Hand Outreach Ministries and Thrift Store in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. At right is shop employee Reagan Harper.
St. Albans' fire marshal, Lt. Chris Collins, holds packages of Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose, on July 31, 2025.
Lt. Rieco Moyer stands outside South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä High School on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Moyer, of the South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Police Department, also serves as the school resource officer for the school.
Jenny Keener, Heart and Hand's community outreach coordinator, stands in the service agency's food pantry, at 212 D Street, South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, on July 30, 2025.
Jenny Keener is no stranger to substance use disorder.
Keener adopted her sister's children after her sibling overdosed and died in 2012. Her sister's daughter also died of an overdose in 2020, at age 22. Keener, the community outreach coordinator for Heart and Hand Outreach Ministries, a South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä-based community service agency, carries out the nonprofit's programming with her sister and niece in mind.
"I want to be that place that would have helped [them]," Keener said.
Last year, Heart and Hand received $25,000 from South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä's share of opioid settlement funds. Keener said it's made a huge difference to those in need of Heart and Hand's services. But it was just a drop in the bucket of the $73.5 million distributed by West Virginia in the fiscal year ending in June 2024.
With no set application process or way to decide who receives a portion of the money, local governments control how they allocate their funds.
In the 2024 fiscal year, Mountain State municipalities spent less than 10% of the opioid settlement funds they received. The largest chunk of the money went to law enforcement.
The West Virginia First Foundation was established in May 2023 to ensure opioid settlement funds are used "strategically and transparently across all regions of the state."
A local spending report published by the WVFF accounts for only the first opioid settlement allotment, covering the period between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. According to the report, about $73.5 million in settlement funds were distributed to 226 local governments across West Virginia. Of the money distributed, approximately $7 million was reported as spent.
According to the WVFF Qualified Settlement Fund Overview, a qualified settlement fund is a court-established account used to hold and distribute settlement money in mass tort cases, such as the nationwide opioid litigation. In West Virginia, opioid settlement funds are deposited into a QSF and distributed according to the terms of the West Virginia First Foundation's Memorandum of Understanding, which is an agreement made to ensure that these funds are used transparently and in a way that impacts the majority of the public.
A list of approved uses includes using the money for opioid use disorder treatment, research, first responders, law enforcement, opioid misuse prevention, support for babies with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and their families, training and to prevent overdose deaths and other opioid related injuries.
South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä resident Olivia Shelton (left), 11, and her grandmother, JoAnn Dotson, shop Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, at Heart and Hand Outreach Ministries and Thrift Store in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. At right is shop employee Reagan Harper.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä spent nearly $53,000 on recovery-based programs and nonprofits in fiscal year 2024. One of these programs was Pollen 8, which received nearly $28,000 for employment training or educational services for people in treatment for (or recovery from) opioid use disorder. Heart and Hand, 212 D St., also received funds and provides social services, utility assistance, resume classes and job training for those in recovery.
Keener said 100% of community and business donations — and now the opioid settlement money — goes back into the community. The money Heart and Hand received from South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä went to social services.
The Heart and Hand Outreach Ministries and Thrift Store in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä is shown on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
"As someone [who] has been directly affected by the opioid epidemic, I want to see cities using the money to either help people who are in recovery, active addiction or the children being affected by those two groups," Keener said.Â
Keener said Heart and Hand went from serving 5,000 people before the COVID-19 pandemic to almost 20,000 people last year.
"As prices have increased, it's harder to access services," Keener said. "That money we got from the city has helped us substantially to be able to increase our programming."
Lt. Rieco Moyer stands outside South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä High School on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Moyer, of the South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Police Department, also serves as the school resource officer for the school.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä also allocated about $293,000 to its police department to fully fund school resource officers for South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Middle School and South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä High School during the 2024-25 school year. Those two SROs were funded by other South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä funds in past years, and will be again in future years.
Rick Atkinson, South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä's city manager, said that Heart and Hand, Cafe Appalachia, WVU Medicine | Thomas Hospitals and South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Police Department all received some funding. A public hearing was held where each group presented information on what the funds would be used for.
"The finance committee considered these requests, came up with a budget and passed the resolution," Atkinson said.
St. Albans had two expenditures reported for the 2024 fiscal year, one of which was $91,000 to purchase two new vehicles for the fire department.
St. Albans' fire marshal, Lt. Chris Collins, holds a package of Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, which can revive people suffering from an opioid overdose, on July 31, 2025. In front of him is a "first-out bag," which includes an automatic electronic defibrillator and other tools used to help those overdosing. In the background is St. Albans Fire Chief Lance Carney. He's standing beside a 2024 Dodge Ram 1500 truck used for early emergency responses. The vehicle was purchased with opioid settlement funds.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
According to Fire Chief Lance Carney, one of those trucks is used by the St. Albans fire marshal and the other is driven by an SAFD shift commander.
"We're all certified EMTs on staff, so [the fire marshal] responds to pretty much every major medical emergency when he's on duty," Carney said. "This includes opioid overdoses and subsequent cardiac arrests."
Carney noted that the fire department was working with only one pickup truck to answer overdose-related calls prior to receiving the new vehicles.Â
"When you look at cost efficiency and just the wear and tear on the [fire trucks], it's cheaper and more beneficial to take a smaller vehicle," Carney said.
Here's a breakdown of other statewide municipalities, what they spent and how during FY 2024.
No reported expenditure
30 county commissions reported spending none of the first allocation of settlement money, including the Kanawha County Commission.
113 cities and towns reported spending none of the settlement money including Huntington, Dunbar, Belle, Marmet and Kenova.
Although these entities did not spend the first allocation of settlement funds during FY 2024, many have spent some or all of the money since then.Â
Did not file
As of July 14, 2025, 16 local governments and county commissions did not file reports.
Town of Sylvester, Boone County
Town of Grantsville, Calhoun County
Town of Meadow Bridge, Fayette County
Town of Weston, Lewis County
Lincoln County Commission
City of Logan, Logan County
Town of Kimball, Marion County
Town of Rivesville, Marshall County
City of Keyser, Mineral County
Town of Union, Monroe County
City of Nitro, Kanawha and Putnam counties
Town of Eleanor, Putnam County
Town of Sophia, Raleigh County
Town of Coalton, Randolph County
City of Parsons, Tucker County
Town of Fort Gay, Wayne County
Top 10 recipients:
$4.2M: City of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä
$3.9M: Raleigh County Commission
$3.7M: Berkeley County Commission
$2.9M: Kanawha County Commission
$2.7M: City of Huntington
$2.7M: Cabell County Commission
$2.7M: Wyoming County
$2.5M: Logan County Commission
$2.5M: City of Beckley
$2.2M: McDowell County Commission
Money spent on law enforcement
Local governments reported spending approximately $3.3 million of their opioid settlement funds on law enforcement, making law enforcement the largest category of reported spending.Â
Here is a list of the municipalities that spent the most money on law enforcement:
St. Albans' fire marshal, Lt. Chris Collins, holds packages of Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose, on July 31, 2025.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
Local governments reported spending approximately $1.7 million on quick-response teams and emergency medical services. Here is a list of municipalities that spent the most money on QRT and EMS:
$500K: City of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä
$333K: Wetzel County Commission
$275K: Mingo County Commission
$168K: Cabell County Commission
$136K: Doddridge County Commission
$91K: City of St. Albans
$35K: Pleasants County Commission
$35K: Jackson County Commission
$30K: Oceana, Wyoming County
$26K: Hardy County Commission
Reimbursements and revenue replacements
$133K: Williamson, Mingo County, transferred $133,230 into its general fund in order to pay bills and make payroll.
$66K: Oceana, Wyoming County, reported three separate transfers from its Opioid Settlement Fund account into the town's general fund. The first was a transfer of $8,000, the second was $26,285 and the third was for $32,200. According to the report, all three transactions were used to "cover a temporary shortage for the town." The first two transfers were paid back following the end of the 2024 fiscal year. The third transfer is in the process of being repaid. Another transfer was made for $4,120, but, according to the report, it was unintentionally transferred and has been paid back in full.
$352K: The city of Princeton, Mercer County, used $351,711 to recuperate the funds spent on prior expenses. According to the report, the money was used to offset costs of lease purchase agreements that were previously used to maintain the needs of law enforcement.
$48K: Fayetteville used $4,711 to reimburse its general fund for a previous purchase of police and first responder equipment. A second reimbursement was issued for a police department vehicle in the amount $40,592 and a third for police department training in the amount of $2,648.Â
$431.75: Lewisburg was reimbursed for expenses needed to equip the new officer assigned to the Greenbrier County Drug Task Force.
Youth and school prevention
Local governments reported spending approximately $460,000 of their opioid settlement funds on youth- and school-focused prevention efforts. Here is a list of the municipalities that spent the most money on youth and school prevention:
$280K: Marion County Commission
$131K: Hardy County Commission
$12K: Oceana, Wyoming County
$10K: Ceredo, Wayne County
$10K: Mason County Commission
$10K: Bluefield, Mercer County
$6K: Mineral County Commission
$1K: Tucker County Commission
$500: Wardensville, Hardy County
Treatment, rehab and recoveryÂ
Local governments reported spending approximately $508,000 of their opioid settlement funds on treatment, rehab and recovery. Here is a list of the municipalities that spent the most money on treatment, rehab and recovery:
$200K: Cabell County Commission
$85K: Sistersville, Tyler County
$57K: Logan County Commission
$53K: South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä
$50K: Monroe County Commission
$20K: Hardy County Commission
$15K: Marion County Commission
$12K: Pendleton County Commission
$10K: Mineral County Commission
$10K: Ceredo, Wayne County
CLICK HERE to follow the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail and receive
