Three years ago, Gov. Glenn Youngkin unveiled his Right Help, Right Now plan to overhaul Virginia’s behavioral health safety net. Today, that plan is a reality thanks to Hallie Pence.
The executive director of Right Help, Right Now had her first exposure to politics in middle school. While on a mission trip to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Pence had conversations with Suzanne Obenshain, wife of state Sen. Mark Obenshain, about becoming a General Assembly page. She eventually became a House page at 14.
Still, it wasn’t until she attended the University of Virginia, pursuing a philosophy major and a Buddhism minor, that she decided to make a career out of politics. A summer spent interning with Rep. Bob Goodlatte and Rep. Robert Hurt led to various full-time jobs on Capitol Hill after she graduated.
Starting as a staff assistant for Hurt, Pence worked her way up to becoming legislative director for then-Rep. Thomas A. Garrett Jr., and a senior legislative assistant and senior advisor to Rep. Ben Cline.
Pence then worked on Youngkin’s gubernatorial campaign and moved to Richmond to join his administration. Since then, she’s overseen the creation and implementation of Right Help, Right Now, an $1.4 billion effort to assist people undergoing mental health crises.
Launched Dec. 2022, the initiative aims to offer same-day care for those in crisis, strengthen care coordination, shift mental health crisis response away from law enforcement and strengthen the state’s behavioral health workforce. One example of this expansion: When Youngkin took office four years ago, the state had 36 mobile crisis units that could be dispatched to individuals in crisis; today there are 100.
“We wanted to have someone to respond,” says Pence, who grew up on a black angus cattle and hay farm in Rockingham County. “Our average response time is 45 minutes right now, which is great.”
Pence is also involved with Girls With Pearls, a mentoring program at Blandford Academy in Petersburg. The effort sees Pence, First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and others mentor roughly 30 sixth grade girls about everything from etiquette to overcoming bullying.
When she’s not working to overhaul the state’s mental health safety net or mentoring others, Pence enjoys traveling, attending boxing classes and exploring Richmond’s food scene.
