VCU Center on Society and Health

As part of National Youth Violence Prevention Week ( ), the Armstrong High School Varsity football team was recognized yesterday morning for their remarkable season through a Positive Youth Development lens.

These young men completed an undefeated season and finished as runners-up for the state championship. They demonstrated discipline, commitment, and teamwork, but what stood out most was their character. Despite facing several challenges, they remained focused and determined to succeed.

They also participated in a roundtable conversation with Black male leaders from the City of Richmond—organized with support from the Center on Society and Health’s Torey Edmonds—designed to deepen their understanding of pathways to success while acknowledging the obstacles that can come with them. The leaders encouraged the students to reject limiting mindsets and to fully embrace the opportunities before them, walking confidently through doors often opened by hard work and dedication.

Congratulations again to these young men on an outstanding season.

Midlife mortality in the U.S. has been rising since 2010. But why, and why does it vary so much by place and population?

A new study co-authored by the Center on Society and Health's Emily Zimmerman and Steve Woolf takes a deeper look at how long-term changes in local economic, social, and employment conditions shape these trends. Using county-level data spanning decades (1970–2019) and a novel temporal approach, the research uncovers a critical insight: the relationship between social determinants and mortality is not fixed. It shifts over time, across regions, and by race.

Some factors - like labor force participation, educational attainment, and family structure - show meaningful associations with mortality risk. But their impact isn’t uniform. In many cases, both the strength and direction of these relationships depend heavily on historical context.

This study is a reminder that today’s health outcomes are often rooted in decades of change. Understanding those dynamics is essential for designing policies that truly address gaps in health.

Clues to the origin of rising midlife mortality: associations between recent mortality outcomes and county-level economic, social, and employment changes over multiple time periods - Population Health Metrics Background All-cause midlife mortality rates have been increasing since 2010 in the United States. Using data from 1970 to 2010, this study investigates the association between county-level changes in economic, social, and employment sectors and changes in midlife mortality rates the occurred betwee...

We're excited to see the Center on Society & Health's Jon Lee mentioned in a recent VCU News story on community-focused opioid response research. Jon, who also works for the Wright Center for Research Translation, has served as senior data analyst on the project's multidisciplinary team.

By identifying “bright spots,” communities with lower-than-expected overdose mortality despite similar risks, this work highlights the problem and uncovers what is actually working. Using data from across Virginia and partnering with local communities, VCU researchers are translating these insights into practical tools and strategies that can be shared statewide.

We especially appreciate this strengths-based approach to understanding what is happening in communities. As VCU professor Dr. Jackie Britz notes, quoting Monique Sternin, “Unless you listen, listen, listen, you cannot achieve anything. No one knows better what a community needs than the community itself.”

This is what impactful, community-engaged research looks like in action.

By finding ‘bright spots’ in the opioid crisis, VCU researchers are mapping a path to better outcomes Rather than focusing on areas where mortality is highest, a multidisciplinary team is putting a spotlight on communities that are performing significantly better than expected despite facing the same risks as their neighbors who are struggling.

We honor the life and legacy of Pat Mathews, longtime partner of the Center for Society on Health and founding President of the Northern Virginia Health Foundation. For more than a decade, Pat’s leadership and vision supported research that brought critical attention to stark health disparities across Northern Virginia.

A passionate champion for justice and fairness, Pat helped move conversations about health and opportunity to the center of public dialogue. We are grateful for her partnership and the lasting impact she leaves behind. Read more about Pat here:

Patricia Mathews Obituary March 6, 2026 - Legacy.com View Patricia Mathews's obituary, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

This week on NPR’s It’s Been A Minute, health policy correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin highlights life expectancy research from our Center’s founder, Steve Woolf, including his report "Shorter Lives, Poorer Health."

The conversation adds important context to how Americans’ health has changed over time:

💡 Progress matters. The health and life expectancy of Black Americans has improved dramatically since the Civil Rights Movement. While inequities persist, those gains have helped increase overall life expectancy in the U.S.

💡 Public health breakthroughs changed the game. The widespread adoption of antibiotics and vaccines drastically reduced deaths from infectious diseases, an often overlooked reason Americans live longer today.

💡 Health is shaped beyond the doctor’s office. Research behind Steve’s report looked at why Americans fare worse than people in peer countries. Access to care and insurance matter, but they explain only a small part of the gap. The bigger drivers of health are the conditions where people live, work, and age.

That’s why efforts to address racial inequities and community conditions remain so important, even as we recognize the progress that’s been made. We’re proud to continue this work with partners like CitiesLEAD: https://www.bigcitieshealth.org/citieslead-launch/

🎧 Listen to the episode: “Were Americans Actually Healthier in the Past?”
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/09/nx-s1-5739736/were-americans-actually-healthier-in-the-past

Were Americans actually healthier in the past? : It's Been a Minute Are Americans actually becoming less healthy?That’s an idea that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been repeating for a while now. While there are some nuggets of truth in that – on the whole, American life expectancy has gone up a lot in Kennedy’s lifetime. So why ...

We recently hosted a Lego Serious Play workshop designed to help Center on Society and Health staff explore complex ideas through hands-on building. Through interactive exploration, our team made ideas visible, mapped complex systems, and aligned around shared goals, uncovering fresh perspectives and sparking creative breakthroughs along the way.

Led by Manjari Kumarappan, Health Innovator-in-Residence at the VCU da Vinci Center, the session drew on expertise in public health, human-centered design, and systems thinking. Grounded in empathy, collaboration, and fun, the workshop empowered our staff members to translate bold ideas into real-world impact for healthier, more equitable communities.

Check out some of the photos captured by Center Director Derek Chapman!

📸 Earlier this month, VCU’s Center on Society and Health and Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension research collaborative team participated in a Photovoice exhibit called, We Are the Ones: Our Photovoice Journey in RVA Health Corps (2025–2026).

On Thursday, February 5, 2026, community members gathered at the Annie Giles Community Center for a powerful Photovoice exhibit hosted by the City of Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building. This exhibit showcased photos and stories created by RVA Health Corps members and featured photos from the RVA Foster Grandparent Program, using photography and storytelling to share what service, resilience, and community truly look like.

This Photovoice project was made possible through funding from Serve Virginia and the AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation. Photovoice is a creative arts-based participatory process that puts cameras in the hands of individuals to enable them to share their experiences, perspectives, and stories of volunteerism and service through the use of photography, discussion, and collective action. Through Photovoice, RVA Health Corps AmeriCorps members documented their lived experiences of service showing that while service looks different in every community, it is united by compassion, connection, and action.

We are especially proud of the five RVA Health Corps members who shared their voices and community work so boldly. Their photos and stories remind us that service is more than what we do, it’s how we show up for one another. 💙

Learn more about our Photovoice work: https://lnkd.in/eB-eA6dJ

The opioid crisis is costing Virginians billions of dollars a year, and new data shows urban areas and Black communities, including Hampton Roads, are among the hardest hit.

WHRO recently covered our Center’s study, which also shows signs of progress. But the crisis remains deeply tied to housing instability, food insecurity, and long-standing health inequities.

As our Center Director Derek Chapman explains, the return on investment for enhanced opioid care is clear: "The study shows opioid care could prevent nearly 70% of overdose deaths and save communities about $5.2 billion."

Virginia’s opioid crisis swept from the mountains to the cities. Hampton Roads sees both problems and progress. Virginia’s opioid crisis has carried a $5.2 billion price tag, with some of the highest per-resident costs now concentrated in cities like Portsmouth and across Hampton Roads.

The Virginia Pilot spotlights our recently updated study, highlighting how the opioid epidemic is costing lives and billions of dollars in our communities.

The good news is that Virginia saw a 43% drop in overdose deaths in 2024. These numbers show progress, but they also reveal persistent racial disparities and the profound emotional and financial ripple effects felt by families and communities across the Commonwealth.

Our analysis underscores that improving opioid outcomes is key to saving lives and strengthening community well-being and economic health for Virginia’s future. Read the full article: https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/01/11/va-opioid-epi-cost/

(And read our study here: https://www.virginiaopioidcostdata.org/)

We can’t measure every benefit of helping people stay safe and live well, but the data we can measure tells us this: better opioid outcomes help us build stronger communities. Understanding the past can help us build a more compassionate and prepared future.

Learn more: https://www.virginiaopioidcostdata.org/

Recent press coverage highlights our updated website detailing the economic cost of the opioid crisis in Virginia communities. The coverage also amplifies our core message: saving lives is possible. Investing in evidence-based care works: https://www.virginiaopioidcostdata.org/

Read these four articles here:

-CBS 6 Local News: https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/virginia-opioid-crisis-update-nov-14-2025
-ABC 8News: https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/vcu-vdh-opioid-care-cost-database-2025/
-Axios: https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2025/11/17/richmond-opioid-crisis-cost-virginia-vcu-report
-WAVY TV 10: https://www.wavy.com/news/health/786-million-lost-in-hampton-roads-due-to-opioid-epidemic-in-2023-according-to-vcu-study

[Graphic description: Four headlines that read: 1) CBS 6 Local News: Virginia's opioid crisis cost $5.2 billion in 2023, but recovery investments show promise. 2) ABC 8News: “Richmond lost $526 million in opioid economic costs in 2023 — highest in Virginia: VCU database. 3) Axios: Report: Richmond area lost over $1B to Virginia's opioid crisis. 4) WAVY TV 10: $786 million lost in Hampton Roads due to opioid epidemic in 2023 according to VCU study. Also included is the VCU Center on Society and Health logo.]