“For more than a year, Stanly County has been entrenched in a battle against the opioid epidemic.

At different times this past year, Stanly has led the state in the number of opioid overdoses per month resulting in emergency room visits, according to data released by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. From January to November, the county has had 92 opioid overdose ER visits, less than the 124 during the same time period last year.

The Center for Prevention Services in Charlotte was recently awarded a five-year, $1.25 million Partnership for Success Grant to serve Stanly. The grant, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, began in October and runs through Sept. 30, 2024.

The grant provides approximately $260,000 per year to fund new efforts in Stanly aimed at reducing substance abuse. The grant will help in numerous way including providing a youth drug survey to students in the sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth grades next spring. Training for middle and high school teachers and counselors over the next two years in the Botvin LifeSkills Training program, which has been used in 39 countries and has been shown to be effective in reducing alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drug use, will also be funded by the grant along with providing a trained youth coordinator to educate high school students about the dangers of drugs.”

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