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Buncombe opens Southside Healing Space pilot for peer recovery support; Dogwood funds and Umoja lead
Summary
County announced a peer-support living space for substance-use recovery in the Southside community, funded by Dogwood Health Trust and run by Umoja with a soft opening June 24 and regular hours later in the summer.
Dr. Nouriel Armstrong, Buncombe County Chief Equity and Human Rights Officer, presented the Southside Healing Space, a peer support living space developed from the county's fatal overdose response team work and community engagement and funded through a Dogwood Health Trust grant.
Armstrong said the pilot is led by Umoja as the lead agency with Buncombe County staff providing administrative support. The space, at Brown's Temple CME in the Southside neighborhood, is intended as a safe place for peer support, community health workers, psychoeducation, wellness activities and connections to local resources. The program's stated outcomes include tracking levels of engagement, percentage of unique visitors served, stigma reduction and linkage to treatment and services.
Armstrong said the program emerged from an opioid settlement-funded strategic planning process and community input; the county and partners emphasized culturally informed outreach, naloxone education and expanded access to medications for opioid use disorder. Dogwood Health Trust funded the pilot and the county will provide quarterly updates to Dogwood and a one-year staff report to the Board of Commissioners.
A soft opening is scheduled for June 24 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.; regular hours are planned for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a grand opening planned for late summer.
Ending: Armstong asked the board for support and said the county will report quarterly to funders and annually to the board on the pilot's progress.
