Local nonprofits outline services, ask for level funding to sustain shelters, mental‑health and senior programs

A string of regional nonprofits and service providers appeared before the Nottoway County Board to summarize programs and ask for level funding that they say helps leverage larger grants and sustain services.

Sharon, representing Steps community action, asked the board to continue level funding and outlined a two-pronged approach to housing and victim services. She said Steps has raised private funds and requested continued county support for a planned micro-home village (10 tiny homes and a community center) and longer-term Israel Hill redevelopment that developers estimate could include up to 450 housing units and a 50‑person childcare center. “We have raised over $915,000 of our own to do that,” she said during the presentation.

Sean Rozier, vice president of empowerment services for Steps, detailed the agency’s domestic-violence and sexual-assault services. “Our request this year is level funding…So it’s $15,000,” Rozier said, and described Madeline’s House — the reopened regional shelter — and a 24/7 hotline and hospital accompaniment service that fielded 31 ED accompaniment calls in the last fiscal year, including calls involving child victims.

Crossroads, a regional behavioral-health provider, explained a state funding increase that raised required local contributions by a 10% match formula. Crossroads staff said their revised Nottoway request would be approximately $79,003.80 under the model the Crossroads board adopted and noted core services include outpatient mental health, same-day access and school-based services funded through Medicaid and federal-poverty‑guideline programs.

Other presenters described complementary services: a Small Business Development Center representative offered free consulting and maker-space resources and asked the county to stay at the longstanding 30¢ per capita support; the Piedmont Area Veterans Council described grants and veteran services and asked for a modest increase in county support; Piedmont Soil & Water Conservation requested level funding for conservation specialists and described $563,000 in agricultural cost-share administered last year; PSR summarised senior services (16,530 home-delivered meals, nearly 2,000 non-emergency transports) and said reduced federal funds required a small county match adjustment; and Virginia Legal Aid presented case statistics and said local funding helps but would not be the sole determinant of representation.

Speakers repeatedly emphasized that modest county contributions often unlock larger matching grants. Cross-sector presenters asked the board to weigh the county’s fiscal limits against the service disruptions that would follow if programs were cut. The board asked clarifying questions about match requirements, how grants are drawn down, and the potential local impacts if a grant is not renewed. No formal funding decisions were made at the session; the board said it will consider the requests during the budget process and asked staff to provide follow-up information where numbers were provisional.

Several presenters left contact information and handouts for staff and noted they would follow up on outstanding questions about matching rules and program scope.