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Speakers urge Buncombe commissioners to back state funding for Healthy Opportunities pilot
Summary
Public commenters asked the Board of Commissioners to urge the North Carolina General Assembly to continue funding the Healthy Opportunities pilot, which county presenters said provides nonmedical supports and may wind down without state funding.
During the public comment period at the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting on June 17, two speakers highlighted community needs and urged county action on health and education topics.
Rob Jackson, superintendent of the Buncombe County School System, addressed the board to thank commissioners for their support of the schools and to note recent graduation figures for the district. "We appreciate your efforts. We appreciate the investment in our school system and our children," Jackson said. He told the board the system serves about 22,000 students and noted roughly 1,600 students graduated this past week.
Talia Wilson, a UNC student working with Manna Food Bank, urged the board to send a letter to the North Carolina General Assembly supporting continued funding for the Healthy Opportunities pilot, a program that coordinates nonmedical services—such as housing, food, transportation and interpersonal violence supports—to impact health outcomes. Wilson said the pilot serves three regions in Western North Carolina and two in the east and that staff estimates health-care savings of about $1,000 per member per year; she also cited an estimated $11,900,000 in annual savings for Western North Carolina attributed to the program.
Wilson described the program as a network of roughly 60 organizations working across disciplines to address whole-person needs and said winding down the pilot because of missing state funding would jeopardize services that supported residents after recent storms.
No formal board action was taken during the public comment period; commissioners did not respond to individual comments, following the county's public comment rules.
