The Roanoke Valley Collective Response to the Opioid and Addiction Crisis (RVCR) mission is for a community “United to build, sustain, and support communities by responding to addiction and promoting recovery and wellness” (revised Jan. 5 2022). Launched in September 2018, the Collective Response is a multi-sector approach working across systems to find new and effective strategies to solve the opioid and addiction crisis across the Roanoke Valley. RVCR members span multiple sectors, and use a collective impact model to: Tackle the root causes of the addiction crisis by influencing changes in policies, practices, social support, cultures and norms, and the physical environment and combine evidence-based practices with local insight and personal stories to recommend, develop, and implement regional solutions addressing critical aspects of prevention, treatment, overdose reversal, recovery, and child and family support.
As of December 2021, the RVCR has been a project of the RVARC. In response to the increases in substance use, misuse, and addiction in Roanoke City, the RVCR received ARPA funds to continue our mission. In order to use this funding to best serve the service area, the RVCR became a project of the RVARC, as it is the role of PDCs to respond to the needs of the region. The RVARC has a strong history of project management and oversight, and serves many of the same regions as the RVCR. In the transition to a stand-alone 501-C3, the RVARC is serving as a backbone organization, giving the RVCR structure to develop a strategic framework to better work towards our mission.
