WV Drug Intervention Institute Transition of Work

Our offices in Charleston are closing on August 31, 2026. We will resume our work from remote locations through December 31, 2026, at which time we will announce specifics regarding program transitions and locations. We will continue to sell/distribute ONEbox® products until December 31, 2026. To order ONEbox® products, visit www.wvdii.org/onebox.

The West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute was created in 2019 through a generous donation of $5M from the Winston-Salem Foundation, via a BB & T (now Truist) donor-advised fund. The donors anticipated a short-term expenditure of the funds to reduce opioid overdose deaths in West Virginia. The recipient board members, however, led the effort to establish an Institute that would create ongoing programs to support West Virginia in combating the opioid crisis. Since that time, we have been razor-focused on the mission of reducing overdose deaths in West Virginia and expanded that work to Appalachia and the United States. In the past 7.5 years we have accomplished much as an organization; and we are now prepared to transition our programs to agencies and organizations that will sustain them long-term. 

Our work and partnerships, while not solely responsible for decreases in overdose deaths, have contributed to the decline in both overdose deaths and drug use. We are proud to see numbers trending in the right direction.

• Overdose deaths fell by 26% in 2024; the largest single-year drop ever recorded. Source: CDC/NCHS, Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2023–2024 (Data Brief No. 549) 

• In 2024, U.S. life expectancy reached 79 years. The 26% decline in overdose deaths played a major role. The recovery movement is helping Americans live longer. Source: CDC/NCHS

• Teen drug use is at a historic low. Source: 2024 NSDUH Data/SAMHSA

• The CDC reported that opioid drug overdoses are down 48% in West Virginia (February 2025-February 2026)

During the last 7.5 years, we believe we have made a major impact in our state, region, and nation.

• Educated over 40,000 schoolchildren throughout WV and Appalachia and their parents regarding medication safety through our Don’t Keep Rx Around™ Medication Safety Program.

• Distributed over 30,000 ONEbox® opioid overdose response kits in 50 states and three countries with reports of over 400 lives saved.

• Supported more than 20 WV Independent Pharmacies to conduct opioid stewardship programs that screened patients at the time of opioid fill, co-dispensed naloxone with those medications, and also educated patients about proper medication disposal.

• Participated in annual Drug Take Back Days with local law enforcement in counties located in WV, TN, and KY with over 200 pounds of unused or expired medication collected. 

• Educated over 30,000 youth in partnership with the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, Huntington’s Safety Town, Prestera, and Valley Health on the impacts of addiction on the brain using our interactive Healthy and Creative Brain exhibit. 

• Trained over 50,000 persons on overdose response throughout Appalachia either online, at music festivals, or in person. 

• Distributed over 75,000 doses of intranasal naloxone throughout Appalachia.

• Employed and trained 20+ persons in recovery to assist with our mission and increase the recovery workforce with support from the Appalachian Regional Commission. 

• Served as the fiscal agent to help launch the WV Hope in Action Alliance and support Kanawha Communities that Care.

• Supported the City of Charleston WV with their 2019 Department of Justice Grant. 

• Implemented a comprehensive prevention program for ALL college campuses in WV in partnership with the WV Collegiate Recovery Network, which includes online, asynchronous, prevention education training, ONEbox® placement, naloxone training, and fentanyl education reaching over 10,000 WV college students in total. 

• Received a Gold Telly Award for our youth PSAs. 

• Received numerous awards and recognition for our work from multiple organizations including: The US Drug Enforcement Agency, The City of Huntington, Coalfield Development, University of Tennessee SMART Initiative, WV Hope in Action Alliance, and other regional and national organizations. 

• Partnered with National Organizations like Mobilize Recovery to support the recovery ecosystem throughout the country. 

We know that significant progress has been made, but there is also much work left to be done. That’s why we created sustainable programs that will survive long beyond the Institute’s presence. These programs will be transitioned to state and national organizations that will continue this good work—including partnerships with First Choice Services, the Huntington Children’s Museum, Rapid Risk Reduction, Prestera, Safe Project, SUPE (Substance Use Prevention Education), and the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network.

More details about how this work will transition will be shared in the coming months.

For questions regarding this transition, contact Dr. Susan Margaret Murphy via email at susan@wvdii.org.