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behavioral health / Substance Use Disorder

More than 50,000 people in WNC struggle with Substance Use Disorder and almost half (47.4%) of adults living in the region report that their lives have been negatively affected by substance misuse (by self or someone else). Overdoses claim the lives of more than 200 WNC residents annually. 
 
As part of its Health & Wellness strategic priority area, Dogwood Health Trust is providing $5 million per year for five years for the purpose of funding programs and services dedicated to addressing substance use disorder for residents of Western North Carolina in conjunction with programs of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. In 2020, Dogwood granted $5 million in work to address substance use disorder in 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary in WNC. By targeting opportunities already based within these counties and supporting work that is locally driven, we are seeing early wins. 
 

Objectives

  • Reduce opioid overdose mortality throughout the region
  • Reduce untreated behavioral health and substance use disorder in populations that have been disproportionately impacted due to disparities such as systemic racism, lack of equitable access, etc.
  • Prevent and reduce behavioral health issues and substance use (tobacco, alcohol, illicit and prescription drugs) in youth ages 3-18 throughout WNC

Special Opioid Planning Opportunity for County/Municipal Governments

Dogwood is offering planning funds to help counties make the most of their opioid settlement dollars. Click below to learn more and apply.

Investment

 $5 million per year

Goal

  • Increase access to behavioral health and substance use prevention and treatment services. 

BH/SUD Grant Activity 2023

  • Community Grant Opportunities

  • Cycle 1

    1/3/23 – 7/5/23

    We seek to expand the practices of harm reduction in WNC by supporting activities in currently unserved geographic areas. Harm reduction practices we may support include, but are not limited to, syringe exchange, naloxone distribution, linkage to care, and other harm-reduction activities.

    Dogwood wishes to increase access to and quality of youth behavioral health prevention and early intervention services. We are interested in practices or programs that demonstrate evidence in reducing substance use and family separation, and/or those that demonstrate improved resilience among participants/families. Proposals that reduce or eliminate barriers in access, by offering services in homes, schools, or communities; or programs that fill a need in an established shortage area will be prioritized.

    Dogwood seeks to invest in recovery supports that focus on the social determinants of health, including housing, peer services, employment support, and other recovery supports. We welcome applications that feature novel and/or innovative partnerships that aim upstream, to connect individuals earlier to supports that allow them to maintain housing, employment, and other critical forms of recovery capital.

    Building from its existing work to support MAT in several WNC counties, Dogwood aims to support new or expanded access points for populations at high risk of overdose who are currently experiencing high barriers to treatment access, including financial, geographic, cultural (stigma) or other barriers.

    To address the growing need for behavioral health care in WNC, Dogwood is interested in supporting new or expanded access points for populations experiencing high barriers to behavioral health care including financial, geographic, cultural (stigma) or other barriers.

    Dogwood seeks expand Western North Carolina’s substance use and behavioral health workforce. We aim to invest in partnerships to recruit, retain, and resource a corps of professionals fit to meet the unique needs of our region. Successful proposals will engage in multi-organization and cross-sector partnerships, leverage outside resources for educational and professional development, empower individuals entering the field with lived experience in recovery, and/or remove barriers to advancement for communities historically under-represented in the health professionals.

    Cycle 2

    4/3/23 – 10/20/23

    • Dogwood seeks to fund partnerships between nonprofit organizations and county Emergency Medical Services that are pursuing innovative overdose response programs based on evidence-based practice. Successful proposals will adopt and adapt existing best practices in post-overdose response to the specific needs and circumstances of the communities served. 

    We seek to expand the practices of harm reduction in WNC by supporting activities in currently unserved geographic areas. Harm reduction practices we may support include, but are not limited to, syringe exchange, naloxone distribution, linkage to care, and other harm-reduction activities.

    Dogwood wishes to increase access to and quality of youth behavioral health prevention and early intervention services. We are interested in practices or programs that demonstrate evidence in reducing substance use and family separation, and/or those that demonstrate improved resilience among participants/families. Proposals that reduce or eliminate barriers in access, by offering services in homes, schools, or communities; or programs that fill a need in an established shortage area will be prioritized.

    Dogwood seeks to invest in recovery supports that focus on the social determinants of health, including housing, peer services, employment support, and other recovery supports. We welcome applications that feature novel and/or innovative partnerships that aim upstream, to connect individuals earlier to supports that allow them to maintain housing, employment, and other critical forms of recovery capital.

    Building from its existing work to support MAT in several WNC counties, Dogwood aims to support new or expanded access points for populations at high risk of overdose who are currently experiencing high barriers to treatment access, including financial, geographic, cultural (stigma) or other barriers.

    Dogwood seeks expand Western North Carolina’s substance use and behavioral health workforce. We aim to invest in partnerships to recruit, retain, and resource a corps of professionals fit to meet the unique needs of our region. Successful proposals will engage in multi-organization and cross-sector partnerships, leverage outside resources for educational and professional development, empower individuals entering the field with lived experience in recovery, and/or remove barriers to advancement for communities historically under-represented in the health professionals.

  • Invitation Only/RFP Opportunities

  • Cycle 1

    1/3/23 - 7/5/23

    We will continue our work with county governments and their partners to plan and prepare for the strategic deployment of funds from the national opioid settlement. Click HERE for more information about this opportunity.

    A comprehensive regional listing of BH/SUD Medicaid services, by provider, and including data on drive time (average travel time) and wait time (time from referral or initial contact to service delivery) for each county.

    As part of our commitment to address Substance Use Disorder in our region, we are very interested in collaborating with partners upstream on prevention efforts for young people that increase resiliency, address trauma, and build protection against behavioral health and substance misuse challenges.  To be able to better understand how these challenges are currently characterized in our region, and to track our collective impact in reducing these challenges for our youth, we are interested in identifying data streams that indicate substance misuse rates in youth ages 8-18 at the county level, or other related predictors or measures of substance misuse and/or behavioral health challenges in youth in our region.

    Cycle 2

    4/3/23 - 10/20/23

Cycle 1

1/3/23 – 7/5/23

We seek to expand the practices of harm reduction in WNC by supporting activities in currently unserved geographic areas. Harm reduction practices we may support include, but are not limited to, syringe exchange, naloxone distribution, linkage to care, and other harm-reduction activities.

Dogwood wishes to increase access to and quality of youth behavioral health prevention and early intervention services. We are interested in practices or programs that demonstrate evidence in reducing substance use and family separation, and/or those that demonstrate improved resilience among participants/families. Proposals that reduce or eliminate barriers in access, by offering services in homes, schools, or communities; or programs that fill a need in an established shortage area will be prioritized.

Dogwood seeks to invest in recovery supports that focus on the social determinants of health, including housing, peer services, employment support, and other recovery supports. We welcome applications that feature novel and/or innovative partnerships that aim upstream, to connect individuals earlier to supports that allow them to maintain housing, employment, and other critical forms of recovery capital.

Building from its existing work to support MAT in several WNC counties, Dogwood aims to support new or expanded access points for populations at high risk of overdose who are currently experiencing high barriers to treatment access, including financial, geographic, cultural (stigma) or other barriers.

To address the growing need for behavioral health care in WNC, Dogwood is interested in supporting new or expanded access points for populations experiencing high barriers to behavioral health care including financial, geographic, cultural (stigma) or other barriers.

Dogwood seeks expand Western North Carolina’s substance use and behavioral health workforce. We aim to invest in partnerships to recruit, retain, and resource a corps of professionals fit to meet the unique needs of our region. Successful proposals will engage in multi-organization and cross-sector partnerships, leverage outside resources for educational and professional development, empower individuals entering the field with lived experience in recovery, and/or remove barriers to advancement for communities historically under-represented in the health professionals.

Cycle 2

4/3/23 – 10/20/23

  • Dogwood seeks to fund partnerships between nonprofit organizations and county Emergency Medical Services that are pursuing innovative overdose response programs based on evidence-based practice. Successful proposals will adopt and adapt existing best practices in post-overdose response to the specific needs and circumstances of the communities served. 

We seek to expand the practices of harm reduction in WNC by supporting activities in currently unserved geographic areas. Harm reduction practices we may support include, but are not limited to, syringe exchange, naloxone distribution, linkage to care, and other harm-reduction activities.

Dogwood wishes to increase access to and quality of youth behavioral health prevention and early intervention services. We are interested in practices or programs that demonstrate evidence in reducing substance use and family separation, and/or those that demonstrate improved resilience among participants/families. Proposals that reduce or eliminate barriers in access, by offering services in homes, schools, or communities; or programs that fill a need in an established shortage area will be prioritized.

Dogwood seeks to invest in recovery supports that focus on the social determinants of health, including housing, peer services, employment support, and other recovery supports. We welcome applications that feature novel and/or innovative partnerships that aim upstream, to connect individuals earlier to supports that allow them to maintain housing, employment, and other critical forms of recovery capital.

Building from its existing work to support MAT in several WNC counties, Dogwood aims to support new or expanded access points for populations at high risk of overdose who are currently experiencing high barriers to treatment access, including financial, geographic, cultural (stigma) or other barriers.

Dogwood seeks expand Western North Carolina’s substance use and behavioral health workforce. We aim to invest in partnerships to recruit, retain, and resource a corps of professionals fit to meet the unique needs of our region. Successful proposals will engage in multi-organization and cross-sector partnerships, leverage outside resources for educational and professional development, empower individuals entering the field with lived experience in recovery, and/or remove barriers to advancement for communities historically under-represented in the health professionals.

Cycle 1

1/3/23 - 7/5/23

We will continue our work with county governments and their partners to plan and prepare for the strategic deployment of funds from the national opioid settlement. Click HERE for more information about this opportunity.

A comprehensive regional listing of BH/SUD Medicaid services, by provider, and including data on drive time (average travel time) and wait time (time from referral or initial contact to service delivery) for each county.

As part of our commitment to address Substance Use Disorder in our region, we are very interested in collaborating with partners upstream on prevention efforts for young people that increase resiliency, address trauma, and build protection against behavioral health and substance misuse challenges.  To be able to better understand how these challenges are currently characterized in our region, and to track our collective impact in reducing these challenges for our youth, we are interested in identifying data streams that indicate substance misuse rates in youth ages 8-18 at the county level, or other related predictors or measures of substance misuse and/or behavioral health challenges in youth in our region.

Cycle 2

4/3/23 - 10/20/23

Partner Highlights

Buncombe County Post-Overdose Response Team

Western Carolina Pacesetters

Madison County Health Department MAT Support

Rutherford County United Way/Voices of Affrilachia

ALFA (Advancing Life. Fighting AIDS)

Diversion Pilot Program Henderson County

Paramedics talking to a man

Buncombe County Post-Overdose Response Team

The Buncombe County Post Overdose Response Team (PORT) addresses critical gaps in care for substance use and other medically-assisted treatment (MAT) programs in Asheville. A diverse mix of professionals makes up the team, including community paramedics, peer support specialists, mental health clinicians and program managers. By partnering with Dogwood, the PORT expanded its services to provide mobile Suboxone administration twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and a front-line bridge to care, providing medications to keep patients compliant with their opioid recovery until they can be seen by their regular providers or resume their recovery program.

Western Carolina Pacesetters

Western Carolina Pacesetters provides Southern Appalachia’s youth with the opportunity to challenge themselves through unique experiential and outdoor activities that focus on interpersonal skill development, adventure and teamwork. Western Carolina Pacesetters partnered with Dogwood to expand its reach to court-involved youth and youth identified as at-risk for potential substance misuse, inspiring them to become more resilient, aware and responsible members of the community.

Madison County Health Department MAT Support

Madison County Health Department was one of the first rural health departments in WNC to offer medically-assisted treatment (MAT) for individuals with opioid use disorder. By partnering with Dogwood, the department extended its medications for opioid use disorder and MAT programs to uninsured individuals, communities of color, survivors of intimate partner violence, disaster victims, those with physical and economic challenges, those experiencing homelessness, immigrants, members of the LGBTQIA community and veterans in Madison, Yancey and Buncombe counties.

Philip Cooper

Rutherford County United Way/Voices of Affrilachia

Dogwood partnered with Change Agent Phillip Cooper and the Rutherford County United Way to create an event called “Voices of Affrilachia,” featuring listening sessions and site visits between NC DHHS officials and BIPOC community leaders in WNC to create culturally sensitive mental health and SUD services in WNC. As a direct result of the “Voices of Affrilachia” project, United Way of Rutherford County and Cooper partnered on a larger, short-term project funded by NC DHHS in collaboration with Partners Behavioral Health. The program, named “Project Urgent Need,” served people with severe mental illness or co-occurring disorders. Cooper led a team of peer support specialists, providing housing assistance and follow-up peer support to 170 people in WNC and Catawba and Cleveland counties. Other team members distributed Narcan across a seven-county footprint. From their efforts, project leaders have been notified of six lives saved from overdoses.

AIDS and STI Testing van and table

ALFA (Advancing Life. Fighting AIDS)

In 2018, ALFA started the Foothills Area Harm Reduction Mission (the Farm). It began distributing syringes, injection supplies, naloxone and other items and services to reduce drug use harm. The need has grown, especially in Burke County. In 2020, despite COVID-19 restrictions that limited mobile services, the Farm provided 400 services to Burke County residents. Staff also provide educational and HIV/HepC screening services at several Burke organizations, including the correctional facility. The need for syringe access, harm reduction services and a link to HepC/HIV care in Burke County is great, and Dogwood has partnered with the Farm to support their work in this area.

Diversion Pilot Program Henderson County

Dogwood supports the law enforcement-assisted Diversion Pilot Program in Henderson County as it works to lessen juvenile justice involvement as a means of reducing risk factors related to substance use disorder. The Hope Coalition is partnering with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office to deliver the program. In the program, participants identify their strengths, define goals and learn skills to prevent the recurrence of involvement in the justice system as well as connect with the appropriate resources. Services include a drug and alcohol education program and a juvenile alternatives program that focuses on early intervention for at-risk youth.