Buchanan County is not among the Virginia counties and cities that will receive the latest round of Opioid Abatement Authority (OAA) grants that totaled $22.7 million.
The OAA approved the nearly $23 million in grants on May 23, which will be used within the communities for opioid abatement and remediation efforts. Ƶ of May 28, the OAA has awarded more than $56 million in grants over the last 12 months.
ƵI confirmed with OAA staff that Buchanan County did not submit an application for this competitive grant cycle,Ƶ said Tyler W. Lester, the Legislative Director for Senator Todd Pillion when asked why Buchanan County did not receive funding. ƵOAA staff has been in communication with the county and assisting them in developing a plan. Additionally, I have been advised that they have received $571,848 as part of their direct locality allocation and have access to an additional $233,380.Ƶ
Senator Pillion released his own statement on the OAA grant funding. ƵThese grants will help communities across the commonwealth develop and expand programs to prevent opioid addiction, to provide treatment, and to support people in recovery,Ƶ said Pillion, who is also the Chair of the OAA Board of Directors. ƵVirginia fought back against companies that were pushing their highly addictive drugs on vulnerable people, and now we are making sure those settlement funds are bring used to save lives, support families, and restore communities.Ƶ ƵIn June 2023 the OAA announced its first major round of awards to cities and counties, totaling nearly $23 million, followed by a subsequent announcement of funds for state agencies totaling nearly $11 million. The total amount of awards made to date exceeds $56 million. Virginia expects to receive a total of approximately $1.1 billion from litigation against manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies that were alleged to have contributed to the opioid crisis. Payments from these settlements and bankruptcies began in 2022 and are expected to conclude by 2041.Ƶ
The OAA was established by the General Ƶsembly in 2021 to oversee the distribution of 55% of VirginiaƵs total settlement funds. Of the remainder, 30% is distributed directly to cities and counties, and the remaining 15% to the commonwealth. The use of funds is restricted by court orders and state statute, with the restrictions requiring that funds be used for opioid abatement and remediation efforts. In November 2023, the OAA received the prestigious ƵAward for Excellence in the Application of the Opioid Litigation PrinciplesƵ from a coalition of national public health organizations led by the faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The list of awards from this most recent round of applications includes the following:
New Awards for Fiscal Year 2025
- Arlington County, $122,633 - Year 2 of outpatient treatment expansion. Also Year 1 funding of $19,206 being carried over to year two.
- Bedford County, 45,000 - (New) Planning grant to develop opioid abatement strategies.
- Franklin County, $11,505 - (New) Renovations of recovery residence to increase capacity for pregnant/parenting women with substance use disorder.
- Gloucester County, $30,265 - (New) Youth prevention campaign in schools.
- Gloucester County, $30,000 - (New) Pilot program - Transportation to treatment.
- Gloucester County, $11,881 - (New) subsidy for uninsured to receive outpatient treatment.
- Hampton City, $156,347 - (New) Jail-based program to support medication for opioid use disorder.
- Henrico County, $87,750 - Year 2 of outpatient treatment expansion.
- Henrico County, $80,231 - (New) Kinship navigator program - prevention of substance use for kids in foster care.
- Louisa County, $15,324 - Year 2 of substance use clinician - expansion of treatment services. Also, year one funding of $61,075 being carried over to year two.
- Newport News County, $195,750 - (New) Jail-based program to support medication for opioid use.
- Orange County, $45,000 - (New) Substance use disorder resource mapping and gap analysis.
- Page County, - $56,063 - (New) Recovery court.
- Richmond City, $250,000 - (New) Integration of peers into city programs.
- Richmond City, $147,711 - (New) Harm reduction vending machines - distribution of naloxone and basic health care supplies.
- Richmond City, $85,000 - (New) Youth substance use prevention campaign.
- Roanoke City, Continuation - Year two of adverse childhood experiences training. Year one funding of $97,000 being carried over to Year 2.
- Roanoke City, Continuation - Year two of Certified Peer Recovery Specialist. Year one funding of $61,000 being carried over to year two.
- Roanoke City, Continuation - Year two of Xylazine testing and spectrometer for testing substances. Year one funding of $48,000 being carried over to year two.
- Roanoke City, Continuation - Year two of public outreach and warm line. Year 1 funding of $25,000 being carried over to year two.
- Roanoke City, Continuation - Year one funding of $21,867 opioid-related EMS supplies being carried over to year two.
- Roanoke County, $146,275 - (New) Support for the Partnership for Community Wellness.
- Roanoke County, $40,000 - (New) Family Services of Roanoke Valley - metal health and substance use disorder support.
- Rockingham County, $89,422 (New) Recovery Court.
- Smyth County, $63,207 - Year two of Peer Support Ƶ Recovery Court. Year one funding of $7,147 being carried over to year two.
- Sussex County, $11,796 - (New) Sussex Safety First (prescription medicine safety).
- Winchester City, $96,590 - (New) Addiction Response Officer, 100% dedicated to opioid and substance use abatement efforts.
- The sub-total for new awards for fiscal year 2025 for Individual Cities and Counties is $1,817,750.
New awards for fiscal year 2025 for Regional Partnerships include the following:
- Accomack County with Northampton, $147,438 - (New) Expand substance use services at Eastern Shore Community Services Boards.
- Albemarle with Nelson, Louisa, Greene, Charlottesville, and Fluvanna, $1,162,960 - Year two of expanding behavioral health crisis services.
- Albemarle with Nelson, Louisa, Greene, Charlottesville, and Fluvanna, $609,225 - Year two of community outreach and substance use disorder services.
- Alleghany with Covington City, $1,069,052 - (New) Substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery.
- Buena Vista with Lexington and Rockbridge, $536,121 - Year two of Hope House (recovery residence program).
- Charlottesville with Albemarle, Nelson, Fluvanna, Orange, Madison, $388,437 - (New) Expansion of services available within the region's recovery courts and specialty dockets.
- Chesapeake City with Virginia Beach City, Continuation - Year two of capital cost/one-time funding for Chesapeake Regional Medical Center emergency psychiatric services and 20-bed inpatient psych unit. Year one funding of $3 million being carried over to year two.
- Chesterfield with Powhatan, Colonial Heights and Petersburg, $103,826 - Year two of peer-led harm reduction and connections to recovery. Year one funding of $1,498,483 being carried over to year two.
- Culpeper with Madison, Orange, Fauquier and Rappahannock, $245,809 - Year two of overdose response team comprised of certified peers. Also year one funding of $41,627 being carried over to year two.
- Dickenson County with Scott and Lee Counties, $1,709,675 - Build and begin operating the Wildwood Wellness Health and Recovery Center.
- Fairfax County with Alexandria, Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William: $1,803,646ƵYear two of residential facility for adolescents with substance use. Also, year one funding of $3,598,493 is being carried over to year two.
- Frederick with Winchester, Clarke and Fauquier, $235,141Ƶ(New) Implement medication for opioid use disorder in Northeastern Regional Jail.
- Gloucester County with Northumberland, Richmond County, and Westmoreland, $215,485Ƶ(New) Expand medication for opioid use disorder within the Northern Neck Regional Jail.
- Grayson with Carrol and Galax, $82,281ƵYear two of recovery court enhancement. Also, year one funding of $153,421 being carried over to year two.
- Hanover w/ Chesterfield and Richmond City, $84,717ƵYear two of expanding Project Recover, a peer-led harm reduction and connections to recovery program. Also, year one funding of $156,896 is being carried over to year two.
- Harrisonburg with Rockingham County, $200,000Ƶ(New) Peer-led recovery center.
- Henrico with Charles City County and New Kent, $156,327ƵYear two of pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders. Also, year one funding of $478,655 is being carried over to year two.
- James City County with York County and Williamsburg, $168,691Ƶ(New) Recovery court and behavioral health docket.
- James City County with York County and Williamsburg, $47,956Ƶ(New) Public outreach and marketing of available substance use treatment services.
- Lynchburg with Campbell County, ContinuationƵOne-time capital for crisis receiving center and treatment initiation facility funding of $1,671,643 being carried over from fiscal year 2024.
- Montgomery County with Radford City, Giles, Floyd, and Pulaski, $2,281,487ƵYear two of the New River Valley Recovery Ecosystem. Also, year one funding of $938,684 being carried over to year two.
- Newport News with Hampton, $342,801Ƶ(New) Mobile substance use services.
- Newport News with Hampton, $427,475Ƶ(New) Peer-led substance use system of care including a drop-off center.
- Prince William with Manassas and Manassas Park, $549,228ƵYear two of outpatient treatment services implementation. Also, year one funding of $365,772 being carried over to year two.
- Richmond City with Henrico, $183,170Ƶ(New) Substance use resource mapping for Metro-Richmond.
- Roanoke City with Roanoke County, ContinuationƵYear two of Roanoke Collective Response (regional coordination of abatement efforts). Year one funding of $349,741 being carried over to year two.
- Roanoke City with Roanoke County, $225,472Ƶ(New) Capital cost/one-time funding to restore recovery housing for pregnant and parenting women.
- Rockingham with Harrisonburg City, $214,245ƵYear two of behavioral health crisis response efforts. Also, year one funding of $143,158 being carried over to year two.
- Russell County with Tazewell, $1,900,000Ƶ(New) Capital cost / one-time funding for ƵSecor,Ƶ community residential 90-day step-down program for recently released non-violent inmates from state prison system.
- Russell with Dickenson County, $250,000Ƶ(New) Recovery housing.
- Smyth County with Russell, Lee, Dickenson, Tazewell, Wythe and Wise, $305,040Ƶ(New) Project Pathfinder: Legal aid for people in recovery who are ready to reconcile issues such as divorce, custody, housing, bankruptcy, etc., as a means of progressing their recovery.
- Smyth County with Wythe, Bland, Bristol City,
- Carroll, Galax, Grayson and Washington, $1,131,318Ƶ(New) Mobile delivery of comprehensive substance use and primary care services across eight cities/counties using two bus-type vehicles.
- Smyth County with Wythe, Bland, Carroll, Galax and Grayson, $939,990ƵYear two of Mt. Rogers Regional Opioid Abatement Partnership. Also, year one funding of $60,010 being carried over to year two.
- Smyth County with Wythe, Grayson, Galax and Carroll, $1,547,771Ƶ(New) Capital cost / one-time funding for the Appalachian Center for Hope substance use treatment center.
- Stafford with Caroline, Fredericksburg, King George and Spotsylvania, $249,809ƵYear two of mobile medication for opioid use disorder and support for Sunshine House (treatment and recovery). Year one funding of $935,190 being carried over to year two.
- Virginia Beach City with Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk, $883,785Ƶ(New) Mobile substance use services across the five cities Ƶ in partnership with Sentara
- Wise County with Lee, Norton City and Scott County, $162,171Ƶ(New) Gate City recovery house.
- Wise County with Lee, Scott and Norton City, $294,034ƵYear two of intensive outpatient treatment program. Also, year one funding of $118,348 being carried over to year two.
The grand total for new OAA Funding for FY25 is $22,672,333.
