Funding Will Support Small Businesses, Infrastructure and Health Care in Underserved Rural West Virginia Communities
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Dec. 4, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development West Virginia State Director Ryan Thorn today announced a new round of investments totaling more than $3.3 million to support local economic development plans and projects in Rural Partners Network (RPN) communities and other neighboring communities across West Virginia.
“The Rural Partners Network is creating new opportunities and helping our underserved rural West Virginia communities get the resources they need to prepare for the future,” said Thorn. “The investments I announced today are perfect examples of how RPN is working with rural communities to help them create jobs, build infrastructure, and support long-term economic stability on their own terms to help them thrive for generations to come.”
The Biden-Harris Administration launched RPN in April 2022 to ensure people in historically underserved rural and Tribal communities receive their fair share of funding from federal agencies. RPN is an all-of-government collaboration supported by 25 federal agencies and regional commissions.
Since its inception, federal agencies have invested over $247 million across the 20 RPN counties in West Virginia. That’s 1,055 USDA investments in locally driven projects that improve local infrastructure, health care, housing, and connectivity.
Today USDA is awarding more than $3,316,568 in grants and loans to support nine projects that will help rural communities address immediate needs and create sustainable economic growth. Many of these projects are the direct result of collaboration between community networks and federal staff living and working in the communities.
For example:
In Wood County, Westbrook Health Services will equip 17 sites throughout Wood, Pleasants, Ritchie, Jackson, Roane and Calhoun counties in northern West Virginia with video conferencing equipment to provide telehealth services. Medical professionals at Westbrook Health Services sites in Wood, Roane, Jackson, Pleasants and Ritchie counties in West Virginia will deliver mental health care including substance and opioid use disorder treatment to these locations benefiting 2,554 rural individuals.
In Braxton County, the Burnsville Volunteer Fire Department will build an emergency shelter and multi-purpose building. When not used as an emergency shelter, the space can store VFD equipment and supplies.
In Raleigh County, the Town of Sophia will construct a new wastewater treatment plant. The plant will be large enough to treat potential flows from the communities of Coal City and Princewick, which currently do not have municipal sewer systems.
As part of today’s announcement, USDA Rural Development is also highlighting its ongoing work to determine how best to streamline its grant programs through an effort called Better Grants Better Service. Through this initiative, the agency is working to reduce barriers and improve access to its programs, the grant filing experience, and efficiency of the application process.
During Phase 1 of the initiative, USDA received 33 recommendations from customers and staff on how to make these improvements. For more information on this critical initiative and Phase I recommendations, visit the Better Grants Better Service home page.
Background: Rural Partners Network
Launched in April 2022 and expanded in November 2022, RPN is now active in 36 community networks in 10 states and Puerto Rico. More than twenty federal agencies and commissions are members of RPN and have a “Federal Desk Officer” dedicated to actively engage with RPN stakeholders across community networks.
In West Virginia, the Southern West Virginia Community Network, hosted by the WV Community Development Hub, and the Pioneer Community Network, hosted by Glenville State University, encompass 20 counties in central and southern West Virginia and are home to more than 448,000 people.
RPN communities also benefit from coordination through other federal efforts such as the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization and President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and Investing in America agenda. The Rural Prosperity Interagency Policy Council, co-led by the White House Domestic Policy Council and USDA, advises the RPN program and ensures rural voices are heard and reflected in national policies that will benefit all people in rural communities.
RPN also benefits from new partnerships with philanthropic organizations to addresses barriers to accessing federal programs with a specific focus on advancing equity and prosperity in rural America. These partnerships will enhance RPN’s work by helping communities develop applications, plan projects, and leverage pre-development expenses and matching funds.
For more information on RPN, visit Rural.gov.
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