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Surry County joins multi‑jurisdiction opioid‑abatement grant application for mobile response unit
Summary
The board approved joining a cooperative opioid‑abatement grant application with neighboring localities to fund a mobile overdose‑response unit staffed by recovery specialists and supported by EMS and law enforcement, using opioid settlement funds as match and not general‑fund dollars.
The Surry County Board of Supervisors authorized county administration to join a cooperative grant application to the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority to fund a mobile overdose‑response unit and related services.
Derek Davis, presenting the proposal, described a cooperative application with Hopewell, Prince George, Dinwiddie, Sussex and District 19 Community Services Board to create a mobile response team with a certified peer recovery specialist, EMS and law‑enforcement attachment. "This is going to be a mobile overdose response unit," Davis said, adding the cooperative model allows counties to use opioid settlement distributions as match rather than general‑fund dollars.
Staff told the board the cooperative application would not require general‑fund dollars; County Administration asked authority to withhold some direct distribution dollars to preserve matching funds for the project timeline in case future distributions decline. The board approved the cooperative application and gave administration authority to withhold direct distributions if needed to secure the match and project continuity.
Why it matters: staff said the District 19 region has one of the higher overdose averages in the state and that a mobile unit would both provide immediate response capacity and collect consistent data across jurisdictions to help target services.
