WILMINGTON — A local substance use provider will receive a large check to continue its efforts toward opioid treatment services.
Trillium Health Resources, a local government agency managing serious mental health, substance use, and intellectual/developmental disability services in eastern North Carolina, is awarding Coastal Horizons $96,000.
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The funds will help offer opioid remediation services including medications, kits for reviving individuals who overdose, and secure needle collection boxes.
“Trillium supports a variety of treatment options for people in recovery,” Trillium CEO Joy Futrell said in a press release. “Providers like Coastal Horizons share Trillium’s dedication to reducing this stigma and strengthening the foundations of well-being in all our communities.”
Coastal Horizons will use the money to support its opioid-related services for the under- and uninsured population it serves. It will cover resources for mobile clinics in Bladen and Columbus counties, as well as brick-and-mortar facilities in New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties.
The goals of the project are to provide funding for medication-assisted treatment, combined with counseling and behavioral therapies, Coastal Horizons President and CEO Margaret Weller-Stargell explained in the release.
The resources are geared at a population for whom “this treatment option is clinically deemed appropriate for creating the best pathway for their sustained recovery, with a focus on rural communities,” she added.
“Moreover, we will be able to provide naloxone, at no cost, to those individuals being served to prevent overdose and overdose deaths, reduce hospital visits, and reduce opioid use,” Weller-Stargell said in the release.
Coastal Horizons has been recognized for its services and funded by local, state and federal entities over the years.
With assistance from the city, Coastal Horizons launched a pilot program in 2018, deemed the Cape Fear Opioid Overdose Quick Response Team. The goal is to engage with opioid overdose survivors to prevent future repeat incidents.
The program was awarded an additional $750,000 in April to continue for another two years.
In October, Coastal Horizons earned a $1.5-million grant to expand its services.
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