Gov. Glenn Youngkin, center, speaks to a crowd at an event for the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board on Friday. (Photos by Jonathan Hunley)

The opening of a crisis center in Spotsylvania County will ensure the Fredericksburg area is no longer lacking in mental health services, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Friday morning at a dedication of the facility.

The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board in August announced that, with the state’s help, it had purchased a 79,420-square-foot building that previously belonged to Rappahannock Goodwill Industries. The structure, close to Interstate 95’s Massaponax exit, will undergo renovations to transform it into a 24-hour crisis center that will provide a safe, calming space for those experiencing psychiatric emergencies for assessment and stabilization.

The idea was to have a specific place to help those with mental illness so they wouldn’t have to be hospitalized or taken out of town for care.

And it fit in with what Youngkin called a mission to transform mental health care overall in Virginia.

“We’ve got a lot more work to do,” Youngkin told reporters after Friday’s event. “But we’re able to now be very confident that we can get Virginians the right help right now. And here in Fredericksburg, which really has been a desert, is no longer going to be a desert.”

Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at the dedication of a mental-health crisis center the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board is opening. (Photo by Jonathan Hunley)

The new RACSB building is strategically located near the newly opened Veterans Affairs outpatient center and a standalone emergency department operated by Mary Washington Healthcare. It’s also situated between two major hospitals.

Renovations will cost about $6.5 million and are expected to be completed in time for a spring 2027 opening. The space provides room for RACSB to provide its current crisis services — assessment, immediate crisis intervention and residential stabilization — while also expanding to offer 23-hour observation and children’s crisis services.

“When RGI decided to move its operation to a new home, we knew that this space would be the ideal setting for our next chapter,” RACSB Executive Director Joe Wickens said Friday.

The state awarded RACSB $12 million for the project through its Right Help, Right Now initiative, Youngkin said in a speech to elected and community leaders, along with another $1.5 million to support the operation once it gets going. Right Help, Right Now distributed money throughout Virginia to expand behavioral health emergency services.

The governor noted the Spotsylvania crisis center will be able to care for up to 38 patients.

“Thirty-eight people formed in the image of God can come and be served, treated and cared for in the way that they deserve to be treated,” Youngkin said.

He also said crisis centers can benefit law enforcement agencies. The Old Dominion has saved the state’s law-enforcement community 20,000 hours because police and sheriff’s personnel can now take individuals in crisis to the facilities and don’t have to stay with them for long periods of time.

The reforms have cut down distances traveled by authorities by half a million miles, as well, Youngkin said.

“My friends, it works,” the governor told Friday’s crowd. “When we lock arms, we can move mountains. When you recognize the least of these need the most of us, then we can change everything.”

Dr. Theron Stinar, CEO and medical director of the Fredericksburg Christian Health Center, a community partner of RACSB, also spoke Friday. He offered a personal, if not painful, example of why crisis centers are important.

He said his family struggled with getting care for his son T.J., who eventually committed suicide in 2019.

“I am so thankful that RACSB is bringing this resource to our community, and for countless families to have the benefit in the lives that will be saved,” Dr. Stinar said.

After Friday’s dedication, Youngkin, a Republican, also spoke with reporters about other topics in state politics:

He blamed Democrats for the federal government shutdown, specifically mentioning Virginia’s U.S. senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. “All they have to do is vote ‘yes,’ and the government opens back up,” Youngkin said.
He noted that he declared a state of emergency on Thursday so that Virginia can pay for food assistance for residents if the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is affected by the shutdown next month.
Because the state has a budget surplus now, it can afford to help, Youngkin said. His declaration of emergency lets him, as governor, move funds around and support SNAP benefits at least for a period of weeks.
“Open [the government] back up, make sure the people get paid and make sure that the most needy Virginians aren’t being used for political leverage,” he said.
The governor also decried the possibility of Virginia Democrats trying to push for congressional redistricting to help the party gain seats in the House of Representatives, a move that was reported by several media outlets.
“It’s nuts,” Youngkin said. “And it’s a desperate political ploy, and I think it is unconstitutional.”