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Burke County accepts 2025 Community Health Assessment highlighting housing, substance use and mental health
Summary
The board accepted the 2025 Community Health Assessment documenting local data and priorities: affordable housing and homelessness, substance use disorder, and mental health. The CHA used resident surveys (492 responses), focus groups and secondary sources; next steps include a 2026 CHIP and a state of county health report in 2027.
Burke County commissioners accepted the 2025 Community Health Assessment (CHA) at their Nov. 17 meeting after a presentation by Miranda Smith, public health educator.
Smith said primary data were collected April–June 2024 with 492 resident survey responses and three focus groups (cultural diversity, people experiencing homelessness and faith-based groups). Secondary data sources included the U.S. Census and North Carolina data portals. The assessment identified three top priorities: affordable housing and homelessness (258 people counted in the county point-in-time count; 73 students lacked stable housing), substance use disorder (55.2% of survey respondents said their lives were negatively affected) and mental health (17% of respondents reported seven or more poor mental-health days in a month). Smith also shared trends over prior CHAs and described planned next steps: a 2026 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) and a 2027 State of County Health report to evaluate progress and guide grants.
Commissioner Trout moved to accept the report as presented; the board approved the motion by voice vote. Smith encouraged the public to review the full CHA when published for more detailed data and grant-use guidance.
The CHA will inform county health priorities, grant-seeking, and the CHIP process involving public and private partners including UNC Health Blue Ridge and the Burke Wellness Initiative.
