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County staff reviews opioid-settlement funded programs: Freedom Life, High Country Community Health, Williams Academy and MRJC report services and client counts
Summary
County staff on Oct. 6 summarized fiscal-year 2024–25 outcomes for four nonprofits funded with opioid-settlement or related grant dollars, reporting client counts, Narcan distribution and new staffing and facilities.
County staff provided a fiscal-year 2024–25 recap Oct. 6 of four nonprofits funded under the county’s opioid-settlement and related community programs, reporting client counts, services delivered and plans for the coming year.
Freedom Life (Avery) received $56,250 across collaborative strategic planning and reentry strategies. Staff reported Freedom Life served 116 clients and provided more than 2,100 miles of transportation services during the year. The group completed a reentry simulation with more than 100 attendees, opened the Elk Park community hub (now operating in FY 2025–26), and hired a full-time male case manager, Jeremy Champion, to support jail outreach and case-management work.
High Country Community Health received $50,000 across two strategies and reported serving 164 patients at the Avery clinic across five providers. Staff said the organization distributed more than 50 Narcan kits (distribution disrupted by the hurricane) and opened a publicly accessible “purple pantry” at the clinic offering Narcan, first-aid supplies and wellness items. Peer-support services continued through a partnership with Homestead Recovery and MRJC after funding interruptions.
Marjorie Williams Academy received $25,000 and operated an innovative program for students with ACE scores of 3+ and those with individualized education plans; staff reported 11 students enrolled and noted five students achieved higher scores on English Language Arts and math end-of-grade tests, while other students showed individualized gains not fully captured by EOG scoring.
MRJC (Mediation and Restorative Justice Center) received $51,000 across three strategies and employed a full-time peer-support specialist in Avery County. MRJC provided 46 clients with recovery support across 165 interactions, distributed more than 100 Narcan kits, and deployed an Avery recovery vehicle for pop-up outreach and Save a Life Day events.
Staff said funding totals distributed to nonprofits since program inception exceed $1.2 million (about 38% of the total anticipated settlement receipts to date); the county maintains those funds in an interest-bearing account. Staff said public-input meetings for the next round are likely in February 2026.
Provenance: Nonprofit presentations and Q&A at 3653.095–4963.7153.
Ending: Staff offered to return with additional updates and to present more detailed breakdowns on request; commissioners and staff discussed speeding rollouts in the coming year and scheduling February public-input sessions.
