The Saving Lives Task Force is seeking community input on how best to use Dare County’s share of North Carolina Opioid Settlement funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
As part of a national historic settlement won against opioid companies for their role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic, North Carolina is receiving $1.5 billion for state and local governments to address the epidemic from 2022 through 2038. Dare County is slated to receive $6,437,093 of the state allocation over that same period, with the monies being distributed in annual installments.
The funds will bring desperately needed relief to communities impacted by opioids and be used to support treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and other life-saving programs and services in communities throughout the state.
The Dare County Board of Commissioners has charged the Saving Lives Task Force with working with community partners to propose a plan for spending these funds. Each year a plan is submitted to the board for approval.
“While we are not required to seek community input, we want to hear from our residents because we know that they have the greatest understanding of the impact substance use disorders have on our community,” commented Saving Lives Task Force Co-Chair Roxana Ballinger, who added that the task force has successfully used survey tools in past years to gather residents’ feedback regarding the use of the funds.
Local governments receiving funds must adopt a resolution each fiscal year identifying the specific strategies they intend to fund and stating the amount dedicated to each strategy over a stated period of time.
To date, the opioid settlement funds in Dare County have been put toward a number of initiatives. These include the funding of a peer support specialist position and a recovery court case manager; community distribution of naloxone and fentanyl test strips; support services and treatment for locally incarcerated individuals; and linkage to care, which can include funding an individual’s admission into a treatment facility, providing transportation or assistance with housing.
Individuals interested in participating in the survey can visit, https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OSF-2025-2026. The survey will close at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
For more information on Dare County Opioid Settlement funds, please visit https://ncopioidsettlement.org/data-dashboards/local-view/
