Total Action Against Poverty in Roanoke Valley, Inc. D/B/A Total Action for Progress

Program Overview and Background

Total Action for Progress (TAP) is a community action agency that serves eleven localities in the Roanoke Valley and adjacent communities. Normal stresses that threaten the stability and security of every family are greatly magnified for low–income families who may find it difficult to get by, especially in emergencies like loss of a job, eviction, illness, or a family member is incarcerated. TAP offers direct services, working with individuals and families, to help them overcome their problems and improve their lives. Our goal is to help them assert themselves as advocates for their own needs.

Program Services

TAP serves at least 20 youth each year with a combination of evidence–based programs chosen for their research base, their applicability to rural areas stricken by the opioid epidemic, and for their ability to fill in the missing services in the Alleghany Highlands. TAP’s training of mentors includes a focus on trauma–informed care to help mentors understand and respond constructively to counterproductive attitudes and behaviors displayed by mentees. The total mentoring intervention will include three curricula with small–group and one–to–one mentoring enhanced by ongoing staff monitoring and family engagement.

Target Population

TAP serves a target population of youth ages 10–17 residing in the Alleghany Highlands, a rural, sparsely populated community comprising Covington City and Alleghany County, Virginia. Targeted youth will be those who are abusing or have abused opioids, are at risk of abusing opioids, or who have family members who are currently abusing or have abused opioids.