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Regional mental health facility moving forward, ground-breaking likely in 2025

Crystal Graham
mental health
(© Maryana – stock.adobe.com)

A new regional mental health facility being developed by Valley Community Services Board is moving forward and a ground-breaking is likely in 2025.

The CSB’s executive director said today that the organization is still working to secure a location for the crisis receiving center and stabilization unit, but expects to nail it down some time this year.

While the project was not included in the latest round of grant funding from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Right Here, Right Now initiative, funds are still likely after the project was identified in his December 2023 allocations. The exact funding amounts were not included in a news release announcing the investments in mental health care last year.

“We have worked with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to delineate that funding, and we together project that it will be more than $9 million,” said Kimberly K. McClanahan, Ph.D., executive director of Valley CSB.

According to the news release, the December 2023 awards were to be allocated from the $58 million investment commitment outlined in the governor’s behavioral health plan.  Valley Community Services Board was one of seven projects identified to improve the continuum of care in the state.

The price tag for the facility to serve Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County is estimated at $25 million. Additional funding has been secured from the American Rescue Plan Act and commitments from the organization’s board.

Once a location is found and funding is secured, it will take approximately two years for the center to be operational, McClanahan previously told AFP.

“We are continuing to work with our local and state partners on the development of this project and are excited about next steps,” said McClanahan. “We hope to have the exact location secured by the end of 2024 and will expect to break ground in 2025.”


Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.