The Need

Background on Substance Use Disorder and Recovery

The opioid epidemic is worsening. As of April 2021, more than 100,000 people in the US died from drug overdose during a 12-month period. This was a first for US history and an increase of 28.5% over the same period just a year earlier. Lack of access to services and limited treatment options increase the chances of homelessness and overdose deaths. Reed Yearwood is a Peer Recovery Specialist, and has been sober since August 2018. In 2018, there had been no recovery housing in Montgomery County. He was very fortunate in having support to receive what was the best service and most cost-effective treatment in Asheville, North Carolina, which was 3.5 hours away. In September 2019, he was able to open the first recovery housing in Montgomery County, which provided housing for 4 people including himself. He quickly began to realize his peers didn't have the same opportunities that he had. He stated he had a longtime friend with a similar story as his, except his friend did not have access to the services he needed, and unfortunately passed away. This semester we worked towards providing more recovery options, focusing especially on rural areas in Southwest Virginia.

From 2020 to 2021, Southwest Virginia experienced a spike in emergency department visits for unintentional drug overdose. As you can see on this graph, Southwest Virginia has the second-largest rate of drug overdose visits to hospitals in the commonwealth.

Establishing the Need

We began our research by reviewing literature on substance use disorder recovery. We compiled over 20 peer-reviewed articles that described national and state SUD recovery services especially recovery housing and recovery centers. We expanded our knowledge of SUD recovery resources by analyzing and assessing related bills presented during the 2021 General Assembly. 

We participated in various professional advocacy training sessions by community partners. We learned about the legislative process with Virginia Delegate Sam Rasoul. We explored the impact of lobbying and the steps of writing a bill.  Beth O’Connor, executive director of Virginia Rural Health Association, taught us how to successfully advocate for bills to governmental figures. We were trained to respond to an opioid overdose emergency through REVIVE! Training taught by Hokie Wellness.

 We engaged in community events to gain a better perspective of the recovery community in the New River Valley. We participated in community recovery events such as Recovery@VT: No Rivals in Recovery Sober Tailgate. We also visited local medical and recovery advocate organizations such as Catawba Hospital, the site of our feasibility bill, and Roanoke Rescue Missions.