Contact:
Kim Miller, Director of Corporate Development
(304) 525-7851, Extension 1505 Cell: (304) 741-3616
For Immediate Release
Prestera awarded $1.2 million for Offender Re-Entry
Cabell, Kanawha and Mercer Counties in WV:
Prestera Center for Mental Health Services has been awarded $400,000 per year over three years in grant funding from the USDHHS, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. The Appalachian Re-entry Assistance (ARA) project will help West Virginia’s state prisoners be ready for parole and prevent re-incarceration. Dana Petroff, Director of Addiction Services at Prestera and the Project Director for ARA, said “We are very excited to be part of this grant to provide comprehensive and intensive wrap-around and professional treatment services that help people successfully return to and remain in their communities.”
ARA partners include Southern Highlands in Mercer County WV for professional behavioral healthcare services. The WV Department of Corrections will identify eligible parolees for project participation. KISRA will begin working with inmates 90 days prior to their parole. Recovery Point West Virginia will provide recovery coaches to build recovery supports that compliment treatment services. In addition to Prestera overseeing the project, they will also provide behavioral healthcare services after parole (mental health, addictions treatment and treatment for co-occurring disorders). Karen Yost, the CEO of Prestera Center, commented: “Strong partners working in coordination will help ensure the success of adults returning home from prison”.
Over the three-year project period, a total of 246 parolees will be served from three counties in WV: Mercer, Kanawha and Cabell. These three counties were selected for the project due to having the highest number of parolees in West Virginia. The project was awarded in September and has been underway for about the past four weeks. Project partners have been busy writing protocols and anticipate that the first individuals to be engaged in services will begin in the next 2 weeks. Once this model demonstrates effectiveness, it can be replicated across the state and beyond.
Prestera Center is celebrating 50 years (1967-2017) of “Leading The Way” in behavioral health and addiction recovery services at fifty-five different locations across nine counties in West Virginia. Each year Prestera Center’s 750 staff members provide high quality care to over twenty thousand adults, children and families, regardless of ability to pay. For more information on Prestera Center, visit online at www.prestera.org, like us on Facebook or call (304) 525-7851.
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