Founded over 50 years ago and based in Morganton, Burke Recovery helps adolescents and adults in Burke County with substance use prevention and treatment. They do this through a mix of prevention, intervention and community coordination. They also serve the community by staffing and handling daily operations of the Burke Substance Abuse Network (BSAN), a coalition of providers, support groups, related agencies and other stakeholders who network, identify service gaps and conduct strategic planning to reduce substance misuse.
At the end of 2020, Burke Recovery partnered with Dogwood for a grant to help specifically with prevention and intervention, providing team members the ability to do life skills training. This training enables staff members to conduct educational sessions in the community, with a focus on adolescents. “The skills do more than just tell kids not to use drugs; they teach them how to cope with anxiety, make good decisions and to speak assertively,” says Executive Director Kim James. The grant is also being used to fund a youth engagement program that empowers youth to be part of the solution and use their voices to help solve the problems of substance misuse in their community.
The Dogwood grant provides something unique for the teens involved in the program. The youth revealed to the Burke staffers that incentives would really help them achieve their goals — for example, a small takeaway or t-shirt for volunteering or participating in a program. “Many grants don’t allow for things like that, but the Dogwood grant did, and that idea came directly from the youth we are working with,” says James.
Another important application of the grant is that of intervention by way of overdose reversal. NARCAN distribution can help save both lives and quality of life. Burke Recovery partners with a wide network of community distribution partners. By January 28, 2021, the organization had already distributed 100 units of NARCAN with plans to purchase another 1,000 units.
“Working with Dogwood has been an organized and thoughtful process from the beginning. Dogwood gives us the opportunity to find Burke County solutions for Burke County problems. Dogwood said, ‘We want to know who you are. How can we help? What do you need?’ They are truly investing in making our community a better place to live,” James says.
