Logan County Commission

Project Empower (PE) is a collaborative program in Logan County, West Virginia dedicated to reducing the incidence of NAS and increasing access to SUD/OUD treatment and recovery support services for pregnant individuals and individuals of childbearing age. The Project Empower Consortium works together to address the needs of the target population throughout preconception, prenatal and labor/delivery, and postpartum stages in a high-risk, rural community. PE participants have access to a variety of treatment opportunities including: evidence-based outpatient SUD/OUD treatment through mental health assessments, psychological evaluations, treatment planning, individual therapy from a master's level therapist, manualized evidence-based professional group counseling, case management, supportive group counseling, rehabilitative psychoeducational programming, peer recovery support services, psychiatric care and MAT treatment via telehealth, and opportunities for educational and career development. Logan County, a rural Appalachian County in Southwestern West Virginia, has been plagued for decades by the opioid epidemic, resulting in high overdose rates and low health outcomes. Children and families continue to bear the burden of the county's high poverty rate, lack of employment opportunities, significant environmental health and infectious/chronic disease concerns, lack of general and behavioral health treatment, and overcrowded child welfare and foster care systems. By offering collaborative, wrap-around primary and behavioral healthcare services, the PE consortium will work to empower the target population to make decisions about their own healthcare, decrease rates of SUD/OUD and overdose, improve the health of individuals and their young children, support families impacted by substance use, and prevent further cycles of trauma.