Wake County is expanding initiatives to help those impacted by the opioid and overdose crisis in our community.
Wake County is awarding more than $3 million to thirteen organizations to implement essential strategies in addressing the overdose crisis. The funding, distributed through the National Opioid Settlement Funds, will go to early intervention programs, naloxone distribution, recovery housing support and recovery support services.
“No amount of money can change what the opioid epidemic did to our community and our country,” said Wake County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. “But our hope is that with these funds, local organizations can be empowered and committed to combating this crisis and ensuring that those affected receive the help and resources they need.”
Local non-profit organizations submitted proposals asking the county for funding for these projects through a competitive process.
The 13 organizations receiving funds are:
- The Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education
- Arise Collective
- Boys and Girls Club of Wake County
- Coastal Horizons
- Emmaus House
- Fathers Forever
- Healing Transitions
- Illuminate NC
- North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition
- SMART Recovery USA
- SouthLight Healthcare
- Urban Ministries of Wake County
- Wake Monarch Academy
Descriptions of the projects and initiatives each organization proposed can be found at wake.gov/opioidsettlement.
The Competitive Process
In May 2024, the county initiated a request for proposals for non-profits interested in competing for a portion of the $7.5 million that was appropriated by the Wake Board of Commissioners in April 2024 with the Wake County Opioid Settlement Funding Plan for Fiscal Year 2025.
Thirty-nine projects totaling nearly $12 million were submitted. An evaluation team reviewed the proposals and recommended 13 be awarded the first round of funding. This is the first of two funding waves that will allocate these funds over the next few months.
Next Steps
Each of the projects selected will enter into a funding agreement with Wake County that will state the use of project funds, conditions of funding, reporting requirements and monitoring to be done for each project.
The agreements will also include provisions for the repayment of funds if the terms of the agreement are not met or if the project ceases to be used for the purposes stated in the agreement. Wake County is committed to being transparent amount how opioid settlement funds are being spent.
For more information about this funding and the National Opioid Settlement Funds, visit wake.gov/opioidsettlement.
