The Rescue Mission At The Heart Of Nc’s Opioid Crisis — And The Money It Can’t Reach

By Taylor Knopf

Six years ago, Jami Mundy was released from nan Richmond County jail. She said she didn’t want to usage narcotics anymore. The erstwhile year, she had overdosed 9 times, and she wanted a amended life for herself and her then-12-year-old daughter.

With fewer places to go, Mundy ended up astatine nan Richmond County Rescue Mission for a twelvemonth and half, wherever she and her girl received lodging, apparel and 3 meals a day. Mundy sewage her driver’s licence there. She completed her GED done nan classes taught astatine nan ngo successful collaboration pinch Richmond County Community College. She received counseling services and attended addiction betterment classes.

“When they started pinch me, they started from nan crushed up,” she said. “The convenience of having each nan things I needed successful 1 spot accrued my chances of getting better.”

Now, Mundy has her ain location and useful arsenic a certified adjacent support specialist. She draws connected her acquisition pinch addiction to counsel others successful recovery, and she still returns to nan rescue ngo to support those opening their ain journey.

The Richmond County Rescue Mission is simply a faith-based nonprofit successful a erstwhile schoolhouse building connected nan eastbound broadside of Rockingham connected nan field of Place of Grace Church. The rescue ngo is nan only bum shelter successful nan county. It operates a acold upwind emergency shelter astir 120 days of nan year, wherever group tin find a repast and a lukewarm spot to sleep, ablution and launder their clothes. The ngo operates a nutrient pantry that serves astir 710 group monthly and a clothing closet visited by much than 200 adults and children each month.

With nary full-time staff, nan ngo depends connected complete 2,000 unpaid hours each period to support its programs running.

The mission’s location successful eastbound Rockingham places it astatine nan halfway of Richmond County’s opioid crisis. Rockingham — a once-thriving mill municipality that now is stricken by poorness and addiction — consistently sees nan highest attraction of naloxone usage successful nan county. The mission’s vicinity is wrong 1 of nan counties hardest deed by nan opioid situation successful North Carolina. 

Last year, Richmond County had nan highest opioid overdose decease complaint successful nan authorities — 80 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to nan authorities wellness department. And passim 2025, Richmond County has topped nan database successful North Carolina for highest complaint of fentanyl-involved deaths, based connected monthly reports from the Office of nan Chief Medical Examiner.

North Carolina counties pinch nan highest opioid overdose rates are successful red. Credit: N.C. Department of Health and Human Services

When money from national opioid settlements started being dispersed to section North Carolina governments successful 2022, rescue ngo Executive Director Matthew Davis saw an opportunity for nan statement to yet get immoderate financial support for its addiction betterment program. 

But for 2 years, his requests for Richmond County’s colony costs person been denied. 

Davis told NC Health News that he’s gotten nary clear reply why nan rescue ngo hasn’t received colony funds, contempt going to region committee meetings. He’s sent emails to nan authorities wellness section asking for oversight, to guarantee nan money goes to nan communities deed nan hardest by nan opioid crisis. 

While nan authorities provides assistance to section governments in galore ways, yet nan backing decisions are up to section leaders. 

Who decides wherever nan money goes?

States are getting money from several nationalist opioid settlements — totaling much than $50 cardinal — which supplier makers, pharmaceutical distributors and trading consultants are paying retired for their alleged domiciled successful fueling nan supplier overdose situation that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives complete nan past 2 decades. The colony statement dictates that nan money beryllium doled retired complete an 18-year play and beryllium utilized to reside nan harms of nan supplier overdose crisis. 

North Carolina will person a full of $1.4 cardinal from those settlements, 85 percent of which goes straight to counties and immoderate municipalities. How section governments walk their dollars is governed by a Memorandum of Agreement created by nan N.C. Attorney General’s Office, which section leaders each signed connected to. The statement lays retired nan processes that section governments must travel to o.k. spending and nan ways they must report their spending connected a nationalist dashboard. 

Learn really your region is doing spending opioid colony funding. Click here: https://ncopioidsettlement.org/trends/local-progress/

North Carolina has been held up nationally as an example for its transparency astir really nan authorities is disbursing and spending nan colony dollars and moreover received an grant from nan Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for its equitable distribution of nan funds. 

For instance, section governments tin only walk their costs connected nan evidence-based opioid abatement strategies elaborate successful nan agreement. Local authorities leaders must ballot to o.k. expenditures during nationalist meetings. 

The remaining 15 percent of North Carolina’s colony backing goes to nan General Assembly to spend, which has led to immoderate debate since they are not held to nan aforesaid standards and criteria arsenic counties and cities.

The opioid colony costs are a important sum of yearly money aimed to reside an moreover larger supplier crisis, flowing astatine a clip erstwhile streams of backing from nan national authorities are drying up. Academics, advocates, journalists and authorities officials are paying attraction to wherever nan money goes. Already, location person been reports of colony costs successful different states spent connected concerts and equipment for rule enforcement. Some are calling for further oversight to guarantee that these colony dollars are spent successful a measurement that maximizes their potential. 

Meanwhile, wherever nan money is astir needed is an ongoing speech crossed nan state.

Many requests, constricted funds

Though it functions arsenic a information nett for nan county, Richmond County Rescue Mission is mostly funded and operated by Place of Grace Church, which supplies nan volunteers.

“When they don’t person funds, it’s really hard,” Mundy said. “There is nary telling what would hap to these group if nan rescue ngo couldn’t supply that.”

In Richmond County, organizations taxable their applications for colony costs to nan county’s Drug Endangered Family Task Force, which reviews and scores them connected a rubric earlier presenting its recommendations to nan region commissioners for a vote. The region has approved a assortment of proposals, including naloxone distribution, a adjacent support program, a intelligence wellness first assistance people successful schools, addiction medicine successful nan region jailhouse and outpatient settings, arsenic good arsenic others. 

“Because we do person much applicants than location are costs available, there’s ever going to beryllium immoderate that are not selected,” said Theresa Smith, nan task unit chair. 

During nan past information of funding, Smith said her task unit presented commissioners pinch 2 proposals — a supplier tribunal and betterment lodging programme — and nan commissioners decided to only money nan supplier court. 

When asked astir nan rescue mission’s application, Tommy Jarrell, task unit coordinator, said that immoderate organizations that activity straight pinch nan rescue ngo person received colony funds, specified arsenic nan organization assemblage that teaches classes connected site.

“They each activity together and intertwine pinch each other,” Jerrell said. “We’re not trying to group thing up successful a silo.”

But nan rescue ngo activity believes their organization is being intentionally ignored by nan county. There are railway tracks that disagreement eastbound Rockingham from nan remainder of nan city; Davis says nan organization carries a dense stigma because of its attraction of homelessness and supplier use.

It’s for illustration being connected “the incorrect broadside of nan tracks,” he said. 

“That stigma intends that moreover successful nan midst of a nationalist wellness crisis, our group are viewed arsenic problems to incorporate alternatively than neighbors to help,” Davis said. “The Richmond County Rescue Mission has been moving to capable these gaps done evidence-based betterment housing, vocational training, and wraparound behavioral wellness supports. 

“Without equitable entree to colony dollars and intelligence wellness funding, our capacity remains acold beneath nan need.”

Small municipality politics

Gary Richardson, pastor of Place of Grace Church, which supports nan rescue mission, has gone earlier nan commissioners to definitive his vexation astatine being passed complete for funding. 

“The only logic I’ve gotten was that ‘the religion would do it anyway.’ The religion has been doing it anyhow for astir 12 years now,” Richardson told nan commissioners during a gathering successful 2024. “We’ve made a batch of partnerships pinch everyone but nan county, and we’d emotion to partner.”

Richmond County Commissioner Jason Gainey told NC Health News that he would emotion to spot nan rescue ngo person opioid colony money and beryllium afloat funded done nan county.

“What they do is simply a immense measurement successful reversing nan curse of addiction and homelessness successful our area, and putting those group backmost to activity and being a contributing national successful our society,” he said.

Gainey’s woman runs nan largest addiction medicine programme successful nan region and has worked pinch nan rescue ngo to thief get its participants treatment. He told NC Health News that nan reasons he’s heard for not supporting nan rescue ngo don’t clasp up. Some opportunity nan rescue ngo and nan religion are excessively intertwined. Some group person told Gainey that because nan rescue ngo is nan county’s only bum shelter, providing region support mightiness promote neighboring counties to nonstop their bum residents there. The Richmond County head and nan chair of nan region committee of commissioners did not respond to aggregate requests for interviews.

“So that’s a bull retired for not helping, and I deliberation that’s an embarrassment to our county,” Gainey said. “And I opportunity that arsenic a commissioner — we tin do better.”

Gainey said nan region continues to find method issues pinch nan rescue mission’s exertion aliases method issues successful their building, for illustration nan sprinkler system. 

“It’s nan craziest point I’ve ever seen,” Gainey said. ”I told nan committee ‘This was wrong. It’s nan worst point I person ever seen personification person to spell done successful bid to conscionable thief nan community.’”

Support for section governments

As Richmond County weighs really to put its colony dollars, different section governments crossed North Carolina are having akin discussions. While last decisions remainder pinch section leaders, a statewide web of experts provides guidance connected effective strategies and helps guarantee that nan costs are utilized efficaciously and successful statement pinch nan governing agreement.

In North Carolina, a group called CORE-NC consists of 4 organizations — nan N.C. Department of Justice, nan N.C. Association of County Commissioners, nan UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and nan N.C. Department of Health and Human Services — that play different roles successful helping section governments walk their money wisely and ensuring that colony costs are spent according to nan position of nan Memorandum of Agreement.

The region commissioners’ relation and DHHS supply guidance to section governments connected really to champion usage their funds. 

Nidhi Sachdeva, head of strategical wellness and opioid initiatives pinch nan region commissioners’ association, said her squad has provided much than 2,400 instances of method assistance to section leaders since 2022. That includes making email connections, answering questions, holding events and trainings, giving presentations astatine tract visits, activity sessions and committee meetings. Sachdeva said she wants to thief region and section leaders get it correct and encourages them to inquire questions. 

The state-run website that tracks section spending includes a section interaction astatine nan bottommost of each county’s page for anyone looking for accusation astir nan colony successful their county. 

Spending accountability

Sachdeva said nan process section governments must travel to walk their colony dollars is designed pinch aggregate steps to guarantee transparency and accountability. Representatives of CORE-NC reappraisal nan section authorities spending documents on nan measurement to make judge they align pinch nan requirements and strategies successful nan agreement. Sachdeva said location are respective opportunities to drawback a imaginable correction aliases a projected expenditure that doesn’t statement up pinch 1 of nan eligible strategies.

“There are galore different points wrong nan process for them to make it right, wherever I dream that successful North Carolina, we don’t person cases wherever spending is misaligned pinch nan position of nan [Memorandum of Agreement],” she said.

Local governments besides behaviour yearly audits of their accounts, and nan opioid spending is reviewed done that process. 

The UNC Injury Prevention Research Center’s domiciled successful CORE-NC is to cod and process information from section governments and support nan CORE-NC website, which shows really nan colony money is used, arsenic good arsenic its effect successful section communities. The authorities Department of Justice ensures that section governments comply pinch nan Memorandum of Agreement governing nan usage of opioid colony dollars. 

To date, nan DOJ has not needed to return ineligible action against immoderate section authorities complete nan colony funds, according to Daniel Mosteller, subordinate lawman lawyer wide astatine nan N.C. Department of Justice. He said his squad has chiefly provided ineligible mentation erstwhile region leaders person questions astir nan agreement. 

“I deliberation we did nan correct point successful doing nan legwork upfront to beryllium very clear connected really nan money tin and can’t beryllium spent,” Mosteller said. “I deliberation North Carolina is simply a occurrence communicative connected spending this money well.”

Nationally, there has been a telephone for authorities attorneys wide to person a reporting system connected their Department of Justice websites wherever imaginable whistleblowers tin study mis-spending of nan colony funds. North Carolina doesn’t person one, but Mosteller said he doesn’t deliberation a reporting instrumentality of that benignant is basal because nan Memorandum of Agreement is truthful clear astir nan ways nan money tin beryllium used. 

He said that if location was a whistleblower that had knowledge of a region authorities misrepresenting its spending of colony money, they could interaction CORE-NC and nan members would return it seriously. 

Vision for nan future

Richardson is still holding retired dream that nan Richmond County Rescue Mission will person immoderate funding. He’d for illustration to beryllium capable to service much families.

“We do service families, but we do not person a circumstantial spot to location families. It’s not optimal, but it’s amended than nan streets,” Richardson said. “If we tin get those parents backmost connected their feet, possibly we tin get those kids backmost successful a family.

Gary Richardson, pastor of Place of Grace Church, speaks to Richmond County commissioners during a 2024 gathering wherever they approved opioid colony spending. Credit: screenshot of a video signaling produced by Richmond County

“We besides want to beryllium a hub. If you’re dealing pinch thing we want to get you that thief — done secular and nonprofit partners,” he continued. “Recovery doesn’t hap if you don’t person location to laic your caput and get rest.”

For Richardson, who has been successful betterment from addiction for 26 years, nan ngo is personal. He intentionally moved nan religion he pastors to nan eastbound broadside of Rockingham and collaborated pinch nan rescue ngo because he knew really profound nan request was successful nan community. He grew up successful nan aged mill town, conscionable crossed nan thoroughfare from wherever nan ngo is now, and he moreover attended schoolhouse successful nan very building that now houses it.

Attached to nan mission’s petition for opioid colony costs are 20 letters of support from section business owners, belief leaders, aesculapian providers, educators, section authorities officials and rule enforcement. 

One of those letters of support was from Nicole Worley, dean of big acquisition astatine Richmond Community College, which holds classes — specified arsenic integer and financial literacy — connected site. Many group surviving successful eastbound Rockingham don’t person proscription to be classes astatine nan organization college, she said, but they tin locomotion to nan rescue mission. Since January 2024, 65 group person taken organization assemblage courses astatine nan rescue mission. 

She said much than a twelve secured full-time employment, which enabled respective to get their ain housing, Worley said.

“I’ve seen really transformative they person been. Their communicative needs to beryllium told broadly,” Worley told NC Health News. “They are retired location doing nan work, but not trading and promoting themselves.”

Reporter’s notebook: In October, I was copied connected an email to authorities wellness officials from nan head of nan Richmond County Rescue Mission pinch nan taxable line: “Urgent Need for Direct Support successful East Rockingham.” After talking to nan director, I called astir to group who telephone Richmond County location to study much astir nan area’s history, nan dynamics successful eastbound Rockingham and nan estimation of nan rescue mission. Not everyone was quoted successful nan story, but helped pass it. I reached retired to section rule enforcement and respective region leaders who didn’t return my calls aliases emails. I besides reached retired to nan authorities Department of Justice for remark connected really they are pursuing immoderate enforcement of spending plans. 

• $40,000 – Naloxone distribution to first responders
• $41,000 – Medication for opioid usage upset curen successful jails
• $86,000 – Drug Endangered Family Task Force (DEFT) strategical planning
• $75,000 – First Health of nan Carolinas adjacent support program
• $75,000 – Community assemblage reentry and employment services for at-risk groups
• $56,000 – Richmond County Schools: Youth Mental Health First Aid
• $20,000 – Sandhills Best Care addiction medicine curen for uninsured individuals
• $99,500 – Samaritan Colony 28-day residential curen programme (12-step model)
• $19,000 – Samaritan Colony to commencement a women’s program

2025

• $85,000 – Drug Endangered Family Task Force (DEFT) strategical planning
• $75,000 – Sandhills Best Care addiction treatment
• $53,500 – First Health of nan Carolinas adjacent support program
• $91,000 – Samaritan Colony 28-day residential men’s programme (12-step model)
• $75,000 – Samaritan Colony startup women’s programme (12-step model)
• $75,000 – Sandhills Best Care addiction medicine for uninsured individuals
• $75,000 – Richmond Community College: Building Brighter Futures employment-related services
• $85,000 – Drug Endangered Family Task Force (DEFT) Collaborative Strategic Planning
• $35,000 – Naloxone distribution for organization and region first responders
• $142,500 – Drug curen court
• $51,500 – Medication-assisted curen successful Richmond County Jail

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