Commissioners hear opioid-settlement updates; approve jail liaison position to support treatment continuity

The Ashe County Board of Commissioners on Monday received updates from the health department and nonprofit partners on use of the county's opioid-settlement funds and approved creation of a detention-center liaison position to help connect people in jail to treatment and follow-up services.

Lindsay (App Health Care), speaking for the public-health partners, told commissioners that North Carolina's national opioid settlements will deliver funds to local governments over 18 years and that Ash County's allocation is roughly $2.1 million. App Health Care and county partners used part of that money to fund a mobile treatment unit that will rotate between Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga counties, and to underwrite local programs that include mentorship and street outreach.

Jennifer Warren, executive director of Western Youth Network, and Julia (Ash County mentoring coordinator) described a mentoring program that recruits volunteers and pairs them with youth referred…