River Valley Center Wins $2.5M Grant

HOLYOKE — River Valley Counseling Center (RVCC) has been awarded $2.5 million by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), one of 67 recipients nationally of the agency’s Targeted Capacity Expansion Grant for HIV/AIDS services.

The federally funded, five-year grant will be used to implement an innovative combination of outreach, screening, pre-treatment, treatment, and access to rapid-testing services for a population especially impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic: homeless African-American and Latina women struggling with co-occurring psychiatric and substance-abuse disorders. These services will be provided in conjunction with Holyoke Medical Center’s Behavioral Health Outpatient Services and in collaboration with the major homeless shelters in Holyoke and Springfield.

“We’re very pleased and honored to have been entrusted with the funds to provide care for this population,” said Matthew Haas, executive director of RVCC and director of Behavioral Health Services at Holyoke Medical Center.

Women with substance-abuse issues, particularly homeless women and women at risk of HIV/AIDS, frequently fall between the cracks when it comes to receiving services. We’re particularly excited to launch this program at a time when Springfield and the nation as a whole are tackling the issue of homelessness with a new level of seriousness.”