NRVCS helps launch Virginia Disaster Assistance Team

The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services recently received $1,293,912 in federal grant funds to support citizens affected by hurricane Helene in southwest Virginia.

The Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP) is a short-term disaster relief grant program available to states, U.S. territories, and federally recognized tribes. CCP funding provides states, territories, and tribes additional assistance to address the behavioral health needs of disaster survivors through community-based outreach, crisis counseling, public education, resource and referral linkages, and other supportive behavioral health services to survivors of natural and human-caused disasters. (https://www.samhsa.gov/dtac/ccp).  Grant funds are provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and supported with technical assistance from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Three of the Community Services Boards (CSBs) serving southwest Virginia – New River Valley Community Services (NRVCS), Highlands Community Services Board, and Mount Rogers Community Services – have partnered to establish the Virginia Disaster Assistance Team (VDAT). Grant funded Crisis Counselors will deploy in teams throughout the CSB catchment to provide support, information and referral to members of the community.

The participating CSBs have a long history of supporting the citizens in southwest Virginia and grant funds will provide additional support to those affected by Helene. Staff from these agencies have been involved in seeing to the needs of community members from assisting with food and water delivery, checking on vulnerable citizens, staffing Disaster Recovery Centers and supporting first responder teams during initial response and clean up.  

“These impacts have many lasting effects on our communities and those who experienced losses directly,” notes Melanie Adkins, NRVCS Interim Executive Director. “This program has allowed us to develop a team of dedicated staff to provide follow-up supports in the community through home visits, connection to behavioral health care and local, state, and federal resources for up to one year from the disaster event—in this case Helene’s landfall and devastation.”

To access Virginia Disaster Assistance Team services in the counties of Giles, Pulaski, Montgomery and the City of Radford please contact New River Valley Community Services at 540.443.7518 and / or email DRTeam@nrvcs.org.

To access Virginia Disaster Assistance Team services for the Washington County area, please contact Highlands Community Services Board at 1-833-442-7272 or email Olivia Amburgey at oamburgey@highlandscsb.org.

To access Virginia Disaster Assistance Team assistance in the counties of Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, Wythe and the city of Galax, please contact Kala Ayers at kala.ayers@mountrogers.org.