Behavioral Health Assembly

VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement) will bring together more than 500 people this Sunday to advocate for funding to complete a mental health crisis receiving center for youth in Northern Virginia. They will also call for increased education on fentanyl and greater accessibility to Narcan for Fairfax County youth.

• WHO:  Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay; Fairfax Schools Superintendent, Dr. Michelle Reid; Fairfax County School Board Chair Karl Frisch; Inova Keller Center Executive Director, Dr. Rick Leichtweis, and others.
• WHY:  According to the Fairfax County Health Department, hospital emergency department visits for opioid overdoses increased 115% from 2022-2023 among youth under age 18 in the Fairfax Health District, which covers the county, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City. Of the fatal overdoses across all age groups in 2023, 95% involved fentanyl.

In partnership with the Inova Health System, the event will feature at least 20 tables staffed by organizations providing addiction recovery, mental health, and drug education services. This event comes at a pivotal moment, as recent years have seen an increase in fentanyl and other substance exposures among Northern Virginia youth, tragically leading to fatal overdoses for some.