Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Jail Diversion Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hope Mission expands jail‑diversion program; DHHS awards $1.3M respite grant and $4M facility grant
Summary
Hope Mission and partners described an expanding jail‑diversion program that reported 43 clients and 6,080 bed nights from March 2024 to February 2025. Presenters said DHHS awarded $1.3 million for a respite home and $4 million to build a new facility; the board praised the program and partners described outcomes and next steps.
Representatives from Hope Mission of Coastal Carolina described an expanding jail‑diversion and recovery program and said the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has awarded two grants: $1.3 million to open a respite home and $4 million toward construction of a new facility.
Program directors said that from March 2024 through February 2025 Hope Mission served 43 clients and provided 6,080 bed nights. The organization described a two‑phase program: an initial six‑month residential diversion focused on stabilization, clinical services and SAMHSA‑based curricula, followed by an optional second 6‑month transitional phase with peer support specialists living with clients in recovery housing.
Hope Mission listed services that accompany the residential program: Medicaid enrollment assistance, vital document retrieval, transportation to medical and court appointments, recovery education (GED help, WRAP, moral recognition therapy), suicide‑intervention training for staff, trauma and sexual‑assault counseling, and emergency financial assistance contingent on need.
Past and present partners — including the county sheriff’s office — highlighted program results. The sheriff reported that since 2019, 227 people entered local recovery programs tied to jail‑diversion; 144 completed a six‑month program, and 70 of those completers have remained clean and not returned to jail, a 46 percent success rate among graduates by the sheriff’s count. Hope Mission leaders said they operate multiple houses in the region and can host up to 60 beds when capacity is reached; at the meeting they reported 32 occupied beds and six additional intakes expected within a week.
Hope Mission representatives said the DHHS funds will open a fourth statewide respite home (a short‑term stay model) and create a peer living room and other services for people experiencing homelessness, substance use disorder, or justice involvement. The group said the $4 million grant will fund construction of a new facility on Bridges Street to replace the current soup kitchen and expand residential capacity.
Commissioners and the sheriff praised Hope Mission’s volunteer base and partnership with the county; no formal county funding vote was taken at the meeting. Presenters invited the board to continue its support while noting construction, grant administration and site work will be subject to further planning and approvals.
