Equal Justice Works Fellowship: Helping West Virginia Families Affected by the Opioid Crisis

West Virginia has led the nation in rates of opioid prescribing and opioid-involved overdose deaths, contributing to a 24 percent increase in foster care placements between 2012 and 2016. At Legal Aid of West Virginia, Equal Justice Works Fellow Emily Neely will be working with affected families to better understand their family law issues and will provide mediation to resolve them. Neely will be creating a referral network with recovery support programs and other organizations addressing the opioid crisis to publicize the benefits of mediation.