MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Atrium Health is launching a mobile unit next month to provide free medication to help people wean off opioids in Mecklenburg County.
The initiative, known as the Post Overdose Response Team, aims to connect drug users with resources directly in their neighborhoods, offering a proactive approach to the opioid crisis.
“Really, I’m just trying to bring down barriers to engage in recovery,” said Dr. Christopher Griggs, an emergency medicine doctor at Atrium Health who helped spearhead the effort.
Griggs also emphasized the importance of offering holistic care, including free treatment for seven days and medication to help users wean off opioids, while also connecting them with long-term support.
“There are a lot of people who have the struggle, but they don’t have the resources,” said Tyler Green from Mecklenburg County Public Health.
The PORT program involves paramedics and peer counselors who will travel in a mobile unit to provide treatment to those addicted to opioids, rather than waiting for them to seek help at hospitals or treatment centers.
Green highlighted the barriers that prevent people struggling with addiction from accessing help, such as a lack of insurance, housing, and transportation.
He also noted that in any given month, 6 to 10 people in Mecklenburg County die from opioid overdoses, with hundreds more battling addiction.
The program is funded by the National Opioid Settlement, from which North Carolina received $1.4 billion, and is set to run for three years with hopes for extension.
With the launch of the PORT program, Atrium Health and Mecklenburg County aim to reduce opioid-related deaths and support individuals in recovery by bringing essential services directly to those in need.
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