Henrico receives more than $1.7 million for opioid treatment and prevention programs
Henrico County will receive more than $1.7 million from the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority (VOAA) during fiscal year 2026-27 to support 13 substance use prevention, treatment and recovery programs, county officials announced Nov. 3. It is the largest single-year award Henrico has received from the authority, which began distributing money from national opioid-related legal settlements in 2023.
The Empower Henrico Task Force, a multiagency group that leads the county’s efforts on substance use, plans to use the VOAA funding to support 13 programs and initiatives.
The funding will allow Henrico Area Mental Health and Developmental Services to assign full-time employees to its Mobile Medication-Assisted Treatment Program for the first time. The agency, which also serves New Kent and Charles City counties, plans to hire four employees to operate the mobile unit and bring naloxone, harm reduction supplies and treatment services into communities heavily affected by opioid use.
Henrico’s Division of Fire also plans to expand the treatment it can offer at overdose scenes. In addition to administering naloxone to temporarily reverse opioid effects, responders will be able to begin medication-assisted treatment using prescription medication such as Suboxone. Patients then will be connected with Mental Health and Developmental Services for continued treatment and therapy.
Other initiatives supported by the funding include services for pregnant women with substance use disorders and their children, as well as expanded public access to naloxone. The county has installed free Empower Henrico Naloxone Distribution Cabinets at Libbie Mill and Fairfield area libraries and at the MHDS offices. New cabinets are planned for Twin Hickory, Tuckahoe and Varina area libraries and Department of Social Services offices. Nearly 600 boxes of naloxone have been distributed free of charge through the program so far.
Leslie Stephen, assistant director of Henrico Area Mental Health and Developmental Services, said the authority’s funding has enabled programming the county previously could not develop. She said the expanded response will allow treatment to begin at the point of an overdose rather than ending after emergency reversal medication is administered.
