Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare (BRBH) is one of the forty Community Services Boards in Virginia that are responsible for providing comprehensive quality services in mental health, intellectual disability, and substance use disorders, as well as monitoring and evaluating such services to ensure their cost effectiveness and applicability to citizen needs. BRBH has multiple programs in operation throughout the Roanoke Valley with about 400 employees working to provide these services. We have been serving our community for over thirty-five years.

Under a contract with the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services, BRBH operates within a service area that is comprised of the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, and the Counties of Botetourt, Craig, and Roanoke. Funding to support our services comes from a combination of state and local government appropriations, federal and private grants, and reimbursement from federal agencies, client insurers, and private payment.

Our vision, as a provider of public behavioral healthcare is:

• To ensure accessible, high-quality behavioral healthcare for our priority populations, and our community at large.
• To reach for excellence by nurturing innovation and creativity, and practicing continuous quality improvement in our business practice and our interactions with consumers through ongoing evaluation.
• To deliver state-of-the-art services.
• To promote public awareness of issues relating to mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse.
• To teach our consumers self-advocacy, and to make available an independent representative for those who are unable to represent themselves.

Our core values are these:

• We put people first. We recognize that our consumers are our top priority, and that our employees are our most valuable resource.
• We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with respect, and to participate fully in decisions that affect his or her life.
• We value providing timely services, in the least restrictive setting, that are accessible, affordable, efficient, and adaptable to individual needs.
• We believe in collaboration with our consumers, their families, and other providers in the community, to achieve mutual goals and to maximize limited resources.
• We practice fairness, embrace diversity, and are committed to cultural competence in our workplace and in our community.
• We adhere to strict standards of business ethics and professional codes of conduct.
• We act responsibly, honestly, and confidentially in dealing with our consumers and with each other.