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Horizon Behavioral Health outlines expanded crisis, housing and school programs for Campbell-area residents
Summary
Horizon Behavioral Health told the Board of Supervisors about new and existing programs including mobile response and co-responder teams, a planned crisis receiving center, the TREE tobacco-prevention grant serving Campbell and neighboring localities, and a rise in in-person visits.
Melissa Lucey, a representative of Horizon Behavioral Health, presented the agency's annual update to the county board at the April meeting, describing program expansions that the agency says aim to reduce hospital readmissions and improve local crisis response.
Horizon highlighted recently launched community-based initiatives: co-responder teams that pair clinicians with law-enforcement responders and mobile response teams that provide on-scene crisis intervention. Lucey told the board those services began responding in the summer of 2024 and are intended to provide alternatives to emergency department admissions.
Nut graf: Horizon also updated the board on its TREE grant work in schools and on development of a local crisis receiving center. The agency said it has connected 27 individuals with severe mental illness to permanent supportive housing and reported increased in-person visits compared with the prior fiscal year.
Details: Lucey said Horizon's TREE grant supports tobacco-prevention education, including a new program developed with the American Lung Association and presented to local students; she said the grant serves Amherst, Campbell and Bedford localities most intensively based on client location. Lucey reported follow-up rates for the grant that exceed discretionary grant averages'for three-month and six-month check-ins.
On the crisis facility, Lucey said renovations at a site on Fenwick Drive are ahead of the original schedule; the facility's building work is reportedly finishing earlier than planned and credentialing and licensing remain before the center can open. Lucey said Horizon is "hoping to be open by March, but could be a little bit sooner" while acknowledging credentialing and licensing timelines are outside the agency's direct control.
Lucey also discussed the state's Marcus Alert system and the role of mobile response teams (MRTs) in Virginia's crisis response framework. She told the board the state moved the alternative-transportation contract from a pilot provider to a new vendor, Steadfast Security; under the new contract, Steadfast will provide conservators of the peace who can take custody in situations that previous pilots did not cover.
Board members asked questions about transportation volumes and service coverage. Supervisor Sean (last name not specified in transcript) asked whether the alternate-transportation model would return to the region; Lucey said the state contract is being rolled out regionally and that Horizon is pushing for the county's region to be included in the expansion. Lucey said transport volume for Campbell was low under the prior pilot because the pilot did not carry temporary detention orders, but the new contractor's scope could increase transports.
Lucey provided a range of program statistics during her presentation, including monthly prescreens and counts for prevention and emergency services, and told the board Horizon continues to offer telehealth alongside in-person services based on client preference. She said in-person appointments increased from 61,802 in FY2023 to about 70,279 in FY2024 (in-person counts only).
Ending: The board thanked Horizon for the presentation and its local partnerships; members voiced appreciation for progress on the crisis receiving center and for the agency's prevention and housing work.
