Northwestern Community Services urges Shenandoah County to keep level funding, highlights 988 and prevention work

Ellen Harrison and Northwestern Community Services representatives asked Shenandoah County supervisors to maintain level funding for local behavioral‑health services and outlined how county dollars are used to leverage state, federal and Medicaid funding.

The Northwestern presenter said the agency’s annual budget is about $26 million and described a funding mix ‘‘about 50% state and federal funding, 40% Medicaid, and then 10% of that is the local government contribution.’’ The presenter emphasized prevention programs and crisis access, including the nationwide 988 crisis line and local response capacity.

On 988, Northwestern staff described the system’s reach and call metrics: "In Virginia, in October, there were 32,800 calls in October alone. The response, answer speed was 68 seconds, and the average talk time was 14 minutes." The presenter said 988 has text and multilingual capacity and that local same‑day access clinics exist for immediate assessment when needed.

Northwestern also described recovery courts and examples of treatment pathways that helped participants secure vocational training and employment. The presenter asked the board to preserve the county’s contribution, saying it remains an essential part of steady service delivery and local prevention work.

Supervisors asked about staffing and how Northwestern interfaces with county schools, courts and coalitions. Northwestern said roughly 18% of its 5,600 annual clients are from Shenandoah County and that the organization has local adult and children’s clinics adjacent to county facilities.