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Wayfinder

There is still what to many West Virginians is an unfathomable amount of money to be spent out of the money entrusted to the West Virginia First Foundation. Nearly $40 million has already been handed out in grants. Now the foundation is planning to spend another $1.5 million to figure out what to do with what’s left. West Virginia University’s Health Affairs Institute, in partnership with the Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs, and Data Drive WV, has been asked to spend the next year-and-a-half developing a better picture of needs, opportunities and the gaps that must ...

Foster Care

There are nearly 6,000 children in foster care in West Virginia. Approximately one-third of them are between the ages of 13 and 17. These children are among our most vulnerable populations, and face challenges most of the rest of us are simply incapable of understanding. But they do have support. Initiatives from Fairmont State University, for example, offer opportunities for Mountain State students who have experienced foster care to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree simultaneously, through Middle College. The RISE (Resilience, Independence, Support, Empowerment) ...

Hunger

West Virginia is considered to be the fourth “hungriest” state by organizations such as Feeding America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture studying food insecurity in this country. Certainly, Appalachia is hit hard. The food insecurity rate in southeast Ohio is 17.4%, though some counties in the region are much higher. In the Mountain State, the rate is approximately 16.67%. A significant number of those affected are children. Homegrown efforts such as those of the Highmark Foundation and WVU Medicine are a lifeline for families in need. For that reason, the Highmark Foundation ...

Consequences

Twenty years ago, no one really knew where social media was going to go. Facebook had just dropped “The” from its name. It was not yet ubiquitous. It was only beginning to move beyond college campuses and into broader public use. By 2006, it opened the doors wide. There were just two requirements: have an email address and be at least 13. It was a revolution without a war. We can remember a time when we weren’t in years-long WhatsApp group chats or documenting every sandwich on Instagram. But the inch-by-inch way social media’s before and after bled together can obscure how ...

Highways

West Virginia’s roads haven’t quite driven us to prosperity just yet, but they ARE better than they used to be, according to a report by the Reason Foundation. Its 29th Annual Highway Report showed the Mountain State moved up just a little — from 33rd to 30th. That still leaves us worse off than Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, but better than Pennsylvania and Maryland. (Would that be the Blacktop Brawl?) Tragically, West Virginia worsened in its urban fatality rate, from 13th to 34th. The state also ranked 49th in the other fatality rate category. But, West Virginia improved in ...

Screenings

If the sight of a giant inflatable colon catches you off guard, good. Perhaps the image will stick and serve as a reminder to keep up with colon cancer (and other) screenings. WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center is using the prop to help raise awareness about colon cancer and colon health, and encourage them to ask questions in an atmosphere that is perhaps a little less daunting than the doctor’s office. The “Strollin’ Colon” is hard to ignore. Colon health is nothing to ignore, either. “Everybody, regardless of family history, should start screening for colon ...