The Poe Center plans to provide low-barrier youth mental health first aid training for parents, caregivers and youth-serving adults to build their capacity to better meet the needs of the youth they support and serve. The Poe Center will focus on community outreach and tailor these trainings to match the communities they serve.

Arise Collective’s funds will support the expansion of their Women’s Reentry Project to provide a deeper level of services and support to justice-involved women struggling with opioid use disorder. The funs will allow the organization to hire clinical and peer support staff as well as expand coverage for a broader and deeper level of care.

The Boys and Girls Club of Wake County will use these funds to expand their early intervention programs to meet the needs of Wake County’s youth. This includes hiring additional full-time and part-time staff who are trained in early intervention and youth mental health first aid, as well as expanding programming offerings and tools available to support members.

Coastal Horizons project aims to address community needs and service gaps by supporting the addition of a Certified Peer Support Specialist (CPSS) and licensed clinical therapist to join their team who can serve individuals in Wake County living with an OUD and are also justice-involved.

Fathers Forever will expand their availability to provide transitional housing and comprehensive support services for men in need to recovery housing support. Their project will provide 60 men up to 90 days of comprehensive recovery housing support tailored for individuals receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder, those transitioning from residential treatment, and men emerging from homelessness.

Healing Transitions will expand their peer-support specialist team to include a Hospital Liaison Peer Support, a Community Care Peer Support and three On-Campus Peer Supports. This funding will also provide transportation to ensure individuals have access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).

Illuminate NC will expand access to naloxone, the life-saving overdose reversal medication, throughout Wake County.

The North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition proposed a project that will promote naloxone access through direct distribution to Wake County residents at the highest risk of overdose through fixed sites and mobile syringe service programs, as well as an innovative mail-based naloxone distribution program. They will also expand the number of partners capable of providing naloxone trainings.

Smart Recovery USA will implement a project that would increase the availability of recovery support options for residents of Wake County. SMART will hire a part-time Community Outreach Coordinator to cultivate a hyper-local community of practice that includes individuals and organizations committed to providing services to prioritized communities.

SouthLight will create a safe, recovery-oriented environment in their Peer Support Specialist-led Drop-In Center for clients seeking recovery from opioid addiction and other substance use disorders.

Urban Ministries will use their funding towards housing recovery support at the Helen Wright Center for Women to cover move-in costs necessary to rapidly place unhoused women with opioid use disorder in permanent housing. These funds would also provide a period of potential ongoing rental aid, as needed, to ensure participants successfully sustain their housing.

Wake Monarch Academy proposed developing and providing an adolescent “alternative peer group” for Wake County. The academy provides a recovery-based environment for students to

successfully pursue academic, personal and professional goals. For implementation of the adolescent APG program, WMA will partner with Empowered Citizens in Zebulon and will work with at-risk youth between the ages of 13–21 who struggle with mental health and substance use disorders.

More than 250 people participated in the three-hour meeting on Aug. 2. Following the meeting, an online survey was opened to the public until close of business on Aug. 5. Respondents were asked to prioritize eligible strategies.

A planning team, led by the Wake County Manager’s Office staff with assistance from knowledgeable stakeholders, developed a draft plan that reflects this public input. It was presented to the county's Health and Human Services Committee on Aug. 22. 

On Sept. 6, the Wake County Board of Commissioners approved the Wake County Opioid Settlement Funding Plan.

These social media graphics and flyer were used to help promote the meeting.

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Wake County and the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office held a community meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2023, to discuss how National Opioid Settlement funding can be used to help youth in our community. Speakers included North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and former Wake County Board of Commissioners Chair Sig Hutchinson.

This meeting continued the conversation on how the county can best use its funds to tackle the crisis and focus on the opportunities available to protect and support our youth.

On Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2023, Wake County hosted a community meeting at the Wake County Commons Building and online to receive community input on the use of these funds. Video of the meeting is below.