Asset Mapping of the Regional Recovery System, Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commision

Title of Project: Asset Mapping of the Regional Recovery Ecosystem, Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission

Project Period: March – September 2024

Principle Investigator (PI): Laura Taylor, Public Health Program and Policy Research Associate

Co-Investigators: Mary Beth Dunkenberger (IPG Deputy Director), Bryce Hoflund (Research Scientist)

Description of Project: (1-2 paragraphs)

In collaboration with the Roanoke Valley Collective Response to the Opioid and Addiction Crisis (RVCR), the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance (VT IPG) has taken on the process of updating the asset mapping of the recovery ecosystem in the regions served by these organizations. Asset mapping was first conducted in fall 2018 as the RVCR was launched. With the recent introduction of Opioid Abatement Funding and other funding sources to mitigate the addiction crisis, it is timely to understand the current state of the recovery ecosystem to build on regional strengths and resources. This phase of asset mapping, conducted in the spring and summer of 2024, has identified assets within the Roanoke Alleghany Regional Commission footprint, which includes Alleghany County, Botetourt County, Craig County, Franklin County, Roanoke County, and the cities of Covington, Roanoke City, Salem, Rocky Mount and Vinton.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy & Research defines a community asset or resource as “anything that improves the quality of community life.” Assets include a physical structure or place. For example, a school, hospital, or church. Other examples include libraries, recreation centers, or social clubs; businesses that provide jobs and supports the local economy; associations of citizens (for example, a Neighborhood Watch or a Parent Teacher Association, or the Roanoke Valley Collective Response, 211 Virginia, Healthy Roanoke Valley or others); local private, public, and nonprofit institutions or organizations; training and educational opportunities; as well as fiscal resources. A recovery ecosystem comprises the domains that address individuals and communities to be as healthy and addiction free as possible. Components of the recovery ecosystem are identified in the diagram below.  Each community should assess the extent that there are sufficient assets available to meet these components and if there are components that should be added to meet their communities' unique needs.

Project Outcomes: The data that was collected as part of the Asset Mapping process was gathered through four activities: Visual Mapping with the RVCR, Facilitated Discussion with the RVCR, Survey of Stakeholders of the recovery ecosystem that serves the designated footprint, and Virtual Discussion Sessions as an optional follow up from the survey. The activities began with 183 identified agencies, services, and programs that fit within the asset definition, and after completion there were 601 assets represented. The information gathered through the asset mapping process was organized into a spreadsheet that will be utilized by the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission for geographic information system (GIS) mapping. Over six-hundred assets are listed with description fields such as RVCR workgroup affiliation, website, contact information including phone number and email, as well as physical address including latitude and longitude. Assets are also organized by workgroup affiliation, where growth can be tracked over time. Growth of assets from the previous asset mapping process completed in 2018 to the current state of the number of assets are organized below.

Project Materials: RVCR Asset Mapping Final Report