Goochland launches online mental health guide for residents seeking help

Goochland County residents looking for mental health help now have one local starting point instead of a trail of websites and offices to sort through. The county and the Chickahominy Health District launched an online Mental Health Resource Guide on May 6, giving families, neighbors and caregivers a single page for counseling options, crisis help, provider searches and other support.

The page directs people in mental health crisis to call 988. If the situation requires police, firefighters or EMTs, it tells residents to call 911. Beyond those urgent steps, the guide pulls together state and local resources, community and nonprofit organizations, insurance provider options, Medicaid and Medicare information, and online tools designed to help people find care in Goochland County and Central Virginia.

County officials said the guide grew out of the 2025-2029 Goochland County Community Health Improvement Plan, which named mental health as one of three county priorities alongside older adult support and services, and attainable and safe housing. The county’s Mental Health Resources page was last updated April 14, 2026, underscoring that the directory is meant to stay current as providers and services change.

County Human Services Director Mills Jones said the partnership with the health district was essential to making the page accurate, flexible and easy to use. Chickahominy Health District Community Health Coordinator Amelia Swafford thanked the workgroup members and county staff who helped draft and publish it.

The need for a practical guide is clear in the county’s own planning documents. The mental health section of the 2025-2029 CHIP says Goochland faces higher suicide rates than Virginia overall, along with barriers that include transportation, social isolation and a shortage of providers. The earlier 2018-2019 Goochland County Community Health Assessment had already flagged a scarcity of local mental health care providers, limited transportation options, limited affordable housing and limited access to affordable high-speed internet.

That longer history helps explain why officials framed the new resource as a service tool, not just a list. The 2024 Goochland County Community Health Assessment, published in February 2025, was meant to show progress since the 2019 report and identify current health priorities. The Chickahominy Health District, which serves Charles City, Goochland, Hanover and New Kent counties, covered a combined population of 174,089 as of July 1, 2023, making the guide part of a broader regional network as much as a county page.

For Goochland households facing a crisis, a new diagnosis or a search for care, the value is immediate: one page, one county, and a clearer path to help.