Current City Investments with Opioid Settlement Funds 

City of Richmond-based Projects

Harm Reduction Vending Machine Project: ORD. 2024-227 Places 24/7 harm reduction vending machines at three high-access locations (Marshall Plaza, Southside Plaza, and East End Library), providing free naloxone, Fentanyl, Xylazine, Medetomidine, and Nitazine test strips, hygiene and menstrual supplies, and first aid kits to reduce overdose risk and remove barriers to lifesaving resources.  Additional funding was awarded in 2026 to place 3 additional HRVM’s at North Avenue Library, Borad Rock Library, and Ginter Park Library. ORD. 2026-037.  The introduction of these machines would not be possible without dedicated collaboration of our community partners. Health Brigade’s Comprehensive Harm Reduction Team, Richmond Henrico Health District, and the Richmond Opioid Task Force introduced these initiatives in early 2024 and continue to provide vital support for the expansion. 

In the first eight months of the project (7/30/25 to 3/30/26), the vending machines distributed 1,376 doses of 4 mg nasal naloxone, 358 test strips, and 1,320 first aid and hygiene kits.  

Richmond City Justice Center MAT Continuation Pilot Program: ORD. 2024-297 

Ensures continuity of MOUD for incarcerated individuals who enter jail with a valid prescription, reducing withdrawal, overdose risk, and treatment disruption through clinical oversight, discharge planning, and coordination with community providers. First Amendment Ordinance ORD. 2025-124

Resource Mapping: ORD. 2024-226 Builds on prior resource-mapping efforts by creating a dynamic, searchable online platform with GIS mapping to help residents and providers quickly locate up-to-date mental health, SUD treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services, with initial English and Spanish language access.  We are currently in the website development phase of this project and hope for a full public launch June 2026. 

CARITAS CPRS Training Program:  ORD. 2025-056 Supports the creation of a Peer Recovery Specialist training pipeline for Richmond residents with lived experience, embedding trained peers into CARITAS programs to provide trauma-informed, person-centered recovery support alongside clinical treatment.

Health Brigade Comprehensive SUD Program: ORD: 2025-111

This funding will enable Health Brigade to create and implement a comprehensive substance use disorder (SUD) treatment program specifically designed for Richmond residents with opioid use disorders, co-occurring mental and physical health conditions, and significant risk of overdose death.

Research demonstrates that comprehensive harm reduction approaches, particularly those integrating syringe service programs with wraparound care, significantly reduce overdose deaths, infectious disease transmission, and improve treatment engagement. 

Health Brigade will deliver these evidence-based services through direct community outreach to neighborhoods experiencing the greatest burden of opioid-related harm. Their street-based teams meet people where they are, building trust and reducing barriers to care in communities that have historically faced limited access to health services.

Expansion of Peer Recovery Specialist Roles: ORD. 2024-227 Provides funding to build or expand peer recovery roles across emergency response, treatment, and post-incarceration settings to strengthen continuity of care and reduce overdose risk. Five partner organizations received funding through this grant including 

Opportunity, Alliance, and Reentry of Richmond (OAR) ORD. 2025-067

Saint Luke’s Legacy Center ORD. 2025-065

Richmond Ambulance Authority ORD. 2025-110

Atlantic Outreach Group ORD. 2025-066

McShinn Foundation ORD. 2025-064

Operation STOP! ORD. 2026-008

On July 7, 2025, the City of Richmond was awarded $619,000 through Operation STOP!, a targeted grant from the Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority. This initiative directs funding to Virginia localities with elevated overdose rates among Black residents to implement urgent education and prevention strategies that reduce overdoses and overdose deaths. 

In response, our Opioid and Substance Use Response (OOSUR) team partnered with community organizations to develop a collaborative response addressing overdose-related harm in Richmond’s most impacted communities.

Health Brigade will launch a multifaceted outreach campaign—both digital and in-person—including direct street outreach and comprehensive harm reduction services to support individuals at highest risk of overdose, prioritizing geographic areas with increased rates of fatal overdose. ORD. 2026-014

Atlantic Outreach Group and Daily Planet will each manage scholarship funds to eliminate bed fees for Recovery Housing for Richmond residents with demonstrated need, removing financial barriers to accessing support. Recovery support should be immediate, responsive, and accessible to everyone. ORD. 2026-010 and ORD. 2026-012

Richmond Behavioral Health Foundation, serving as fiscal sponsor for Trauma Healing Response Network, will expand access to harm reduction materials through Community Safe Zones and deliver quarterly community-based programming on overdose prevention, harm reduction, and opioid use disorder. ORD. 2026-015

ChildSavers will provide trauma-informed clinical services to youth under 18 whose parent, caregiver, or guardian has experienced an overdose, ensuring young people impacted by this crisis receive the support they deserve. ORD. 2026-011

Daily Planet will deliver education and training to law enforcement and policymakers, strengthening Richmond's response to substance use disorder by promoting connection to evidence-based treatment and support. ORD. 2026-013

VCU's Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research will conduct program evaluation to measure impact, ensure effectiveness, and provide recommendations for sustained growth. ORD. 2026-008

Collaborative Multi-Locality Projects

Hospital Liaison Initiative ORD. 2026-049

This new program is a result of the recommendations provided by research conducted by VCU Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translation Science. During the planning project, it was clear that none of the four localities were receiving referrals from hospitals as required by Virginia Code. The proposal includes hiring two registered nurses to serve as liaisons between the hospitals, community OBGYNs, DSS and the CSBs. Two RNs will provide education to those in the medical field about the requirements for referring to treatment, substance use identification, trauma informed practices, the benefits of early intervention to avoid neonatal abstinence syndrome and provide proper care for the mother. The RNs will also assist with providing warm handoffs to the community resources and to CSBs for treatment as required.

Regional Recovery Day ORD. 2026-050

Henrico County, in conjunction with Chesterfield and Hanover Counties and the City of Richmond, hosted the first annual Regional Recovery Day on September 30, 2024. Now an annual event co-hosted by the four localities, Regional Recovery Day brings together over 800 attendees across the Richmond region to provide resources and support for people in recovery and those who experience Substance Use Disorder.

Project Recover ORD. 2023-368

Project Recover currently provides five Certified Peer Recovery Specialists (PRS) to support individuals in Chesterfield and Hanover counties and in the City of Richmond suffering with substance use disorders that result in treatment by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) or contact with law enforcement.

Chesterfield Recovery Academy ORD. 2025-277

The Chesterfield Recovery Academy Outreach and Transportation project will build on what has been learned during CRA’s three years of operation to increase adolescent access to substance use treatment and interrupt the cycle of opioid and multi-substance use disorder in high school-aged students. It focuses on community outreach throughout the 15 jurisdictions served and provides additional funds to offer transportation for enrolled students.

Past Projects and Resources

2023

In 2023, the City of Richmond, in partnership with Chesterfield County, Hanover County, and Henrico County to expand the region’s Peer Recovery Specialist Program. This effort is focused on deploying Peer Recovery Specialists in emergent situations. 

In 2023, the City of Richmond also launched an additional effort, in partnership with Chesterfield County, Hanover County, and Henrico County to study the impact of opioids on pregnant, birthing, and parenting persons. This effort will provide a gap analysis and needs assessment of this population in Central Virginia.

Each project is ongoing.

2024

In 2024, the City of Richmond is launching four new projects.

1. Harm Reduction: The City will be placing three harm reduction vending machines in public spaces. These harm reduction vending machines will provide naloxone, fentanyl testing strips, and basic personal hygiene items at no cost to residents.

2. Prevention: Youth-focused opioid prevention campaign.  This campaign will draw from existing evidence-based programs tailored for the Richmond community and will rely on a multimedia communications campaign to reach the target audience of youth aged 13-24.

3. Treatment/Recovery: Integration of Peer Recovery Specialists into areas such as emergency response, detox, treatment, recovery, and other facilities to enhance the continuum of care for individuals affected by opioid use disorder.  This will be done by the release of a request for proposals (RFP) and selection of 

4. Data and Resources: Cooperative project with Henrico County and the Richmond Henrico Heath District to provide a resource mapping guide and public facing data dashboard available to the public.

The Opioid Epidemic Outlook

National Outlook: According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2023 there were 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the United States, and 81,083 of those deaths were opioid-related.

State Outlook: According to the Virginia Department of Health, there were approximately 2,513 drug overdose deaths in Virginia, and approximately 1,910 of those deaths involved fentanyl. These are preliminary numbers which will be finalized in July 2024.

City of Richmond Outlook: According to the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, preliminary reports in 2023 show approximately 297 overdose deaths in the City of Richmond, and 270 of those deaths from opioids.