RICHMOND, Va., May 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Resources will donate $250,000 toward community programs at the new Virginia Treatment Center for Children (VTCC), an institution that since 1962 has provided in-patient acute care and outpatient mental health services for children and adolescents. The donation – the first corporate gift toward the new facility – was announced on National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day.

The gift is being made through the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, parent company of Dominion Virginia Power.

"Access to quality mental health care remains a serious challenge," said Robert M. Blue, president of Dominion Virginia Power. "Approximately one in five children in Virginia endures mental or emotional illness that requires professional attention – and, of those, only 4 percent actually receive the necessary treatment. The relocation and expansion of the Virginia Treatment Center for Children's Brook Road campus will, once complete, mean fewer patients will be turned away for want of resources or space."

Dominion's funding will support "tele-medicine" programs in Southside and Southwest Virginia, where treatment access is limited. Specialists at VTCC, the Child and Adolescent Division of the VCU Department of Psychiatry, will consult with pediatricians and treat patients remotely, as well as provide training to mental health professionals in these areas.

"Through the funding provided by the General Assembly, and now through this generous and important leadership gift from Dominion, we are not just constructing a building to replace the VTCC facility; together we are building a caring community for children through effective psychiatric programs, relevant research and trained clinicians, educators and parents," said Alexandria "Sandy" Lewis, Ed. D., executive director of the VTCC. "We are very grateful to partner with Dominion to fulfill this vision." 

A $56 million appropriation from the Virginia General Assembly will fund the relocation and expansion of VTCC from its current location in downtown Richmond to a new location on Brook Road at the Children's Hospital of Richmond. Construction is expected to begin this fall and be completed by fall 2016.

The new facility will better provide family-focused mental health services to children ages 3-17, including inpatient acute care crisis stabilization and outpatient treatment for depression and mood disorders, behavioral disorders and counseling in a state-of-the-art therapeutic environment. More staff and resources also will be available to children, adolescents and teens struggling with the most severe of mental health issues requiring immediate inpatient care.

The Dominion Foundation is dedicated to improving the physical, social and economic well-being of the communities served by Dominion companies, including Dominion Virginia Power. Dominion and the Foundation support nonprofit causes that meet basic human needs, protect the environment, support education and promote community vitality. For more information about Dominion, one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, visit www.dom.com. 

For additional information about community initiatives funded by Dominion, visit www.dom.com/about/community.

About the Virginia Treatment Center for Children
The Virginia Treatment Center for Children is the Child and Adolescent Division of the VCU Department of Psychiatry.  VTCC's services include an acute inpatient psychiatric service, outpatient therapies, the Children's Mental Health Resource Center and the Commonwealth Institute for Child and Family Studies. For more, see http://chrichmond.org/vtcc.

SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power