News & Updates — FORE Announcements

Each year, millions of children live in households with a parent or caregiver with a substance use disorder (SUD), putting them at higher risk for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that can contribute to negative health and social outcomes later in life. FORE’s Family- and Community-Based Prevention Program supports the development and delivery of services that strengthen families impacted by opioid use disorder and other SUDs and mitigate the risks associated with ACEs. Across the US, our grantees lead innovative programs for children, parents, and caregivers affected by substance use, meeting them where they are — in schools, treatment programs, and healthcare settings.

Two new videos showcase how The Martinsburg Initiative and Morgan County Partnership — two nonprofits in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia — work directly with students and educators in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the opioid and overdose crisis. They serve adjoining counties where many children have lost a parent to overdose or live in households affected by substance use. To meet the needs of these families, both organizations have embedded social workers, counselors, and mentors in public schools, providing behavioral health and emotional support that is both compassionate and accessible.

In this video, the team from The Martinsburg Initiative describes how they train teachers to recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma, foster resilience, and connect students with school-based social workers. “We could have this class every week and have a full class,” says Jennifer Burroughs, BSW, LSW, lead social worker with TMI. “We always have a waiting list. They tell me what they learned in school to be an educator does not apply to a child who has experienced trauma, and they have shared that it has changed their perception of education, and they have more job satisfaction because of it.”

A look inside Morgan County Partnership shows how their school-based programs offer a range of tiered supports, including screening, one-on-one counseling, and therapy groups related to grief and loss, anxiety, and trauma. “A lot of parents say even after a couple of sessions, ‘Wow, I see such a difference,’” says Lacee Kidwell, LPC, who works with children in the schools that are part of Morgan County Partnership’s community network.

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