Waynesboro hears update on opioid-abatement grants; two new local programs funded

Jenny Newman, director of the Central Shenandoah Valley Office on Youth, told the council the regional opioid-abatement grants enacted after litigation settlements continue to fund local prevention and recovery work.

Newman said fiscal-year 26 supported three personnel positions through a regional grant (one for the Office on Youth and two for the local health department). The Office on Youth hired a substance-abuse prevention coordinator in March 2026 (Jay Ward), who is working in schools and building community partnerships. The health department’s two positions (a nurse navigator and a community health worker) faced state-level hiring delays but were expected to be filled in fiscal year 27.

For fiscal year 27, Newman said the grants were renewed and named two new local grantees: Strengthen Peers (program titled Bridging Harm and Reduction), which will add a full-time certified peer-recovery specialist and a case manager to strengthen warm handoffs and provide outreach via home visits, virtual sessions and mobile clinics; and Blue Ridge Legal Services, which will hire a full-time staff attorney to provide civil-legal assistance—housing stability, custody, records, access to benefits—to low-income people in recovery and to coordinate medically informed legal assistance with treatment providers.

Newman also noted River Ridge Recovery School received funding for a second year and Valley Community Services Board received funding to support a stabilization and detoxification center; she said the three localities will review multi-year funding commitments (through fiscal 2031 and potentially modeling through fiscal 2039) and consider opening local applications for future funding cycles (potentially for FY28 or FY29).