A new joint drug treatment court for Danville and Pittsylvania County got a boost Friday from a grant of more than $200,000 awarded by the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority.
The authority announced approval of a total of $537,076 in grants to five Virginia communities for opioid abatement and remediation efforts.
The shared drug treatment court in the 22nd Judicial Circuit started in late 2023, according to Melanie Tosh, director of adult clinical services at Danville-Pittsylvania Community Services.
Each locality submitted an application; Danville was awarded $87,206, while Pittsylvania County received $118,861, according to a news release from the authority.
Under the program, when individuals go to court and agree to participate, the Community Services Board provides services, including counseling, case management, peer support and medication-assisted treatment, if needed.
Tosh said that five or six people are currently participating and the goal is to increase those numbers.
“Our judges have been wanting to have drug court for quite a while so this is an opportunity for us to get that started using some opioid abatement money,” she said.
Drug courts are run by judges based on criteria established and overseen by the Supreme Court of Virginia. They have proven to be effective in reducing substance use and recidivism among offenders, lowering drug-related court workloads and improving accountability among offenders, the news release states.
The authority was established by the General Assembly in 2021 to oversee the distribution of 55% of the settlement payments from manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids. Of the remainder, 30% is distributed directly to cities and counties, and the remaining 15% to the commonwealth.
The use of funds is restricted to opioid abatement and remediation efforts.
The authority began accepting 2024 and 2025 annual grant applications in October 2023, and all applications must be submitted by April 1. During this time, certain types of grants can be awarded on a rolling basis, but most of the grants will be awarded after the application cycle has ended, according to the news release.
“These five grant awards are just the beginning of what the OAA will distribute by this summer,” Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, who is chair of the authority’s board of directors, said in the release. “We have been working closely with communities across the Commonwealth and assisting them in completing their applications in time for our April 1 application deadline.”
Other awards from the early round of the 2024 and 2025 cycle were:
- Wythe County: $78,745 for a substance use prevention program for Wythe County Public Schools.
- Smyth County: $37,525 to expand its drug treatment court.
- Fairfax County: $213,739 to add capacity for young adults in the county’s drug treatment court.
