Representatives of Piedmont Community Services (PCS) told members of the Patrick County Board of Supervisors that the organization was awarded a grant to help with the county’s opioid response programs.
Regina Clark, director of Prevention Services, said the group received a Health, Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant for $500,000 over a three-year period. It started July 1 and will run through August 31, 2025.
“It is catered towards rural communities, and this particular grant application focuses on the opioid response program specifically with psycho-stimulant support,” she said.
Clark said the grant will help specifically with methamphetamine, ecstasy, and cocaine addiction as well as the misuse of medications for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and depression.
“We want to make sure people are using medications appropriately and disposing of medications appropriately,” she said.
With the grant, the organization was required to establish an association, which it did with Tri-Area Community Health, Patrick County Family Practice, the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office, and the Patrick County Department of Social Services.
Clark said the funding will be used to expand Piedmont’s services with the outpatient counseling and the substance abuse disorder treatments and services and recovery programs. Funding will also be used to provide training and support for Social Services for parenting services, transportation, and other eligible services.
Clark said the agency has completed an assessment to identify some of the gaps and needs of the community, and created a strategic plan.
“We’ve been partnering with some folks with Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) who are working with the partnered Engaging Patrick County Initiative,” she said.
“There’s a very comprehensive approach to this for both prevention, treatment, and recovery,” she said.
She noted that the grant funding will also allow for three positions to be hired, including a Community Liaison who will work as a coalition coordinator. This role will be responsible for leading the community coalition and will serve as a liaison between Piedmont, the association members, and community members.
“We want folks from the community to be part of this. We also want business partners, school officials, and healthcare at the table. So that person will be a paid staff that will coordinate that,” she said.
The Patrick County Sheriff’s Office will also receive funding for an additional deputy.
“The criteria for that are that they have to be trained in crisis intervention team training. This is something that allows them to be able to network with folks in the behavioral healthcare system, understand substance abuse disorder, understand mental health and behavioral health, and how to work with those individuals,” she said.
Dana DeHart, assistant director of Clinical Services, said one of the agency’s goals is to ensure that these services are still available to the community after the grant funding ends.
“We get a lot of Medicaid reimbursement for a lot of individuals that we see. We work with anybody, no matter how they come to us. That’s just how we’re set up,” she said.
DeHart said the more reimbursements the group gets, the more funding that’s available to help with these programs.
“We’ve very much needed something like this for some time, so we’re very invested” in seeing it continue, she said.
