NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board (CSB) plans to expand its mental health services after the shooting at Newport News’ Richneck Elementary School last year, when a student, 6, shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner.
Congressman Bobby Scott visited the organization Friday morning to present $400,000, secured through a federal grant. It’s funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, and staffers say they’ll use the money to hire more staff specifically ready and trained for crisis situations.
Congressman Scott is the lead Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. He said that when a school shooting happens, there are impacts we can count on.
He explained, “When there is a shooting, the achievement level of the students in the affected school goes down. It has an effect on students.”
He added that the shooting at Richneck highlighted the need for more immediate services that don’t take away from other behavioral health departments.
“We need people on staff ready to move instantaneously without disrupting ongoing services,” Scott said.
Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said the city is still recovering from the trauma of January 6, 2023.
He said, “That was a hard day for our city, a day we’re still recovering from.” He agreed with Scott about the need for expanded mental health services in case of a tragedy, saying, “Post-Richneck, we need more capacity to help victim services and help the mental health component of it.”
The Hampton-Newport News CSB’s Daphne Cunningham helped write the grant. She explained that when the student shot Zwerner, the organization had services available in the weeks following.
“We opened a crisis line that was open from the day, January 6, to the end of February,” said Cunningham. “Folks were able to call that line, we were able to arrange services for them, both adults and children.”
However, Cunningham said the shooting pulled resources from other areas, a situation the organization is hoping to avoid in the future.
“What we wanted to do, in the wake of a number of things happening, is be able to not have to pull from our existing staff, and also look at ways to get information out to the communities,” Cunningham explained.
The Community Services Board was founded in 1971 and it provides mental health services, substance abuse disorder services, and support for those with developmental disabilities. Cunningham emphasized, that the organization already has many mental health resources at work, but this funding will expand its reach.
The CSB plans to hire a crisis counselor, available at a moment’s notice if there’s an emergency. It also plans to have a community trainer to educate people about the resources available to them in their daily lives and after a traumatic event.
Scott said he’s in full support of these changes, stating: “We need people on staff ready to move instantaneously without disrupting ongoing services.”