Tuesday, May 13, 2025
5/13/2025
Central Virginia Addiction and Recovery Resources (CVARR) Coalition - Central Virginia Addiction and Recovery Resources (CVARR) coalition requests funding in the amount of $125,000 per year for the five-year duration of the grant to catalyze resources and cross-sector support from our community. CVARR aims to put forward a collective response to reduce youth substance use and increase protective factors. More specifically, we will target middle and high school youth and their parents living in Lynchburg, Virginia. Since its inception in 2018, CVARR has been anchored in and driven by SAMHSA’s Strategic Planning Framework. Guided by Youth Risk Behavior Survey data and the Lynchburg Community Needs Assessment, we have selected marijuana and tobacco/nicotine as our two targeted primary substances. Our capability and competency to reduce youth substance use is demonstrated through our strong dedication to implementing CADCA’s Seven Strategies for Effective Community Change. Some of the results accomplished during our first period of funding included the strengthening of existing relationships with Lynchburg City Schools through facilitating activities ranging from youth coalition training/implementation and hosting prevention speakers for staff and students at our two local high schools. CVARR is dedicated to fostering partnerships with the Coalition for HIV Awareness & Prevention (CHAP) and the Data to Action Response Team (DART). DART enhances our existing ties with law enforcement, healthcare providers, child welfare agencies, and educational institutions through the sharing of timely data and current trend information. Another burgeoning partnership is with Lynchburg Parks and Recreation as the coalition facilitated “Community Conversations” in neighborhoods across the city. Other flourishing partnerships of note include the collaboration between CVARR and the Central Virginia Health District (CVHD) on Virginia’s Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education Training. CVARR has and will continue to work closely with CVHD, the Lynchburg Police Department, and the Lynchburg Sherriff’s Office to offer Drug Take Back Days semi-annually. A full-time CVARR Coordinator serves as liaison among members of the coalition, the community, and the fiscal agent. Youth and family input from our Healthy Youth through Prevention and Education (HYPE) Clubs and CVARR membership serves as a mechanism ensuring our population of focus guides our planning and helps evaluate our outcomes (i.e., through youth and parent focus groups). CVARR works with community partners to provide ongoing program evaluation anchored in useful, actionable items informing our annual strategic planning process. CVARR’s management structure is guided by our By-Laws, diverse leadership, and our workgroups. The coalition engages in ongoing quality assurance/quality improvement through a process that is iterative and flexible, allowing for programming revisions to meet the evolving needs of our community. We have built strong partnerships with all twelve community sectors to include active membership from: youth, parents, schools, law enforcement, business, government officials, organizations with expertise in substance use, and youth-serving organizations. These partnerships serve as the fulcrum of CVARR’s mission to protect our community from the devasting impacts of substance use through collaborative problem solving and grassroots efforts. Our 12-month action plan will focus on building broad coalition representation and ongoing commitment across our multiple sectors, delivery of evidence-based prevention programming (e.g., Too Good For Drugs), and community-level change strategies (e.g. recognition local retailers and merchants who pass tobacco compliance checks).
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).