The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board received a $90,000 grant from the Mary Washington Hospital Foundation to support behavioral healthcare services in Fredericksburg City Schools. The grant will fund a therapist position, comprehensive assessments, screenings, referrals for treatment, care management, counseling services, and family support services. RACSB officials said the funding will help address mental health needs among students.
Here’s the full press release:
MEDIA RELEASE
Rappahannock Area Community Services Board
600 Jackson Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401
www.rappahannockareacsb.orgFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2025, Fredericksburg, VAGrant Will Provide Mental Health Therapist to City School Division
Fredericksburg, Virginia – Rappahannock Area Community Services Board is pleased to announce the receipt of a $90,000 grant from the Mary Washington Hospital Foundation to support behavioral healthcare services in Fredericksburg City Schools.
The money will allow RACSB to continue to provide a therapist for the school division. Additionally, the community services board will use the grant to provide comprehensive assessments—including screenings and referrals for treatment, care management, counseling services, and family support services.
“These funds will allow us to provide a behavioral health supports program, which provides evidence-based, recovery-oriented treatment focused on youth,” said RACSB Executive Director Joe Wickens. “We know that many students struggle with mental health issues, and this grant will help us address these challenges and provide the supports needed to help children in our community thrive.”
About half of Virginia middle and high school students reported a mental health need, with 20 percent saying they engage in self-harming behaviors and 12% saying they had considered ending their lives, according to a report by the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia called “The Shape of Youth Mental Health in Virginia.”
“The American Academy of Pediatricians declared a national emergency in children’s mental health needs, and we see that need here in the Fredericksburg community,” Deputy Executive Director Brandie Williams said. “In 2021, the Virginia Youth Survey found that 38 percent of respondents felt sad or hopeless every day for two or more weeks. Think about that for a minute: Young people with their futures in front of them feeling little to no hope. We felt compelled to address this, and our agency is grateful to the Hospital Community Foundation for partnering with us to help local students find the hope they desperately need.”
Founded in 1970, RACSB provides public behavioral health and developmental disability services to residents of the City of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford. To learn more, visit www.rappahannockareacsb.org.
