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OA highlights: vehicle-for-recovery program, emergency-medical buprenorphine pilot, crisis receiving center and Operation Stop renewals
Summary
Staff highlighted several recommended awards and innovations: a Dickinson-region vehicle program that helps people in recovery obtain vehicles via a repayable loan mechanism; a Chesterfield EMS pilot to initiate buprenorphine in the field; a multi-county crisis receiving/stabilization/detox capital project; and renewal of Operation Stop targeted funding for seven localities with rising overdose deaths among Black residents.
OA staff singled out several recommended projects and program areas during the June 11 information session, including innovative local approaches and large, one-time capital asks.
Vehicle-for-recovery program (Dickinson and partners): staff described a cooperative project that funds a vehicle-access program in parts of Southwest Virginia. The model described requires recipients to take a loan and repay about half the vehicle cost; repayments are recycled to purchase vehicles for future participants. A staff member acknowledged the use of vehicle purchases may at first seem an unusual use of opioid-settlement funds but said the applicant provided documentation and safeguards linking vehicle awards to recovery plan compliance. Attribution: staff member; supporting details provided by the presenter.
Chesterfield EMS buprenorphine bridge pilot: staff identified Chesterfield County’s planned emergency-medical-services program to initiate buprenorphine in the field as a potentially widely observed pilot. Staff said other localities have asked how to implement similar initiation protocols and signaled interest in the pilot’s results.
Crisis receiving/stabilization/detox center (multi-locality): staff described a capital request coordinated with DBHDS for a new crisis receiving center serving several local service boards (Augusta, Highland, Staunton and others). Because it is largely a capital ask, staff recommended funding from unrestricted OA funds and said the award would carry the capital reporting and phased payment requirements described earlier.
Operation Stop: staff described Operation Stop as a targeted two-year unrestricted program launched last year to address rising overdose deaths in seven localities with disproportionate impacts on Black residents. Staff recommended carrying forward just over $3 million for renewals and said localities remain engaged in implementing community-focused overdose-prevention activities.
What staff emphasized: OA staff noted they prioritized projects with proven records of success, constrained high-cost clinical interventions (not funding broad requests for injectable opioid agonists this cycle but recommending funding for positions/support), and used unrestricted funds for one-time capital projects in order to fill gaps not covered by cooperative funds.
Next steps: committee consideration of these recommendations is scheduled for June 15; staff will provide financial details and project summaries on the OA website.
