DARE COUNTY, N.C. — This summer, News 3's team of investigators has been shining a light on the fight against fentanyl in North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Dare County health officials have been using fentanyl test strips to help keep residents safe.
Investigations
Health officials providing test strips in fight against fentanyl on Outer Banks
Now, there’s a push for more money to get more tools on the ground for a fight that’s personal for Roxana Ballinger with Dare County Health and Human Services (DCHHS).
Last year, her son, David, died of fentanyl poisoning in Hampton Roads.
“He didn't want to die,” Ballinger said. “He struggled for many years with substance use. Eventually, it caught up with him.”
Fentanyl is linked to 82 percent of Dare County's deadly drug overdoses from 2021.
“The fentanyl issue has continued to be more and more of a problem here,” Ballinger said.
Ballinger currently serves as DCHHS’s Health Education and Community Outreach Manager and co-chairs the county’s "Saving Lives Task Force," a group helping people with substance use disorder. Both groups have been providing tools to tackle the fentanyl issue, including fentanyl test strips.
“It tells you what's in your drugs, and it's to save someone's life,” Ballinger said.
These efforts work towards the goal of protecting people in the county and helping them make informed decisions.
“You've got to help them live so they can live,” said Wally Overman, Vice Chair of the Dare County Board of Commissioners and Co-Chair of the Saving Lives Task Force.
News 3 asked Overman how dire the fentanyl issue is in his county.
“I think the fentanyl issue is dire everywhere,” he said. “It's a poison. There's no doubt about that. We have to be able to try and take steps in the county, from a law enforcement standpoint, and from a Saving Lives Task Force standpoint to deal with it.”
One step is a recent proposal from Dare County health officials for a budget of $424,188 for the 2024 fiscal year to help fight fentanyl.
Of the total amount, Ballinger said $150,000 will be dedicated to fentanyl test strips and naloxone kits, which are used to treat overdoses. She said that figure is up from $42,000 for the current fiscal year allotted for both tools.
“We're trying to meet the community need,” Ballinger said.
Ballinger added the county gets opioid settlement funds and received additional funds this year. She told News 3 that more money for test strips and kits is needed because demand is high.
“We'll set up a display that morning, with, say, 12 kits, and by 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon, the manager of the business is calling and saying, ‘Hey, they're all gone. Can you bring me some more?'” Ballinger said.
She's not only pleased with the demand, but also with the positive results of using these tools.
“It makes you feel great. It really does,” Ballinger said. “That's the only way that we're going to save lives is to get it out there for people to feel comfortable getting it, and to know where to get it, and to get it with no stigma.”
Susan Schildbach said she's had past experience with substance abuse and is glad to see her county taking action.
“That's a big concern right now,” Schilbach said of the fentanyl issue. “Any funding we can get towards that is good.”
Ballinger added that part of the proposal includes funding for positions, including a peer support specialist who works directly with people in Dare County with substance use disorders.
As the proposal goes before commissioners for approval on Monday, July 17, Dare County officials will continue educating, informing, and supporting people of all ages to help save lives on the Outer Banks.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) unveiled the organization's Harm Reduction Framework.
SAMHSA officials said this is the first document to comprehensively outline harm reduction and its role within the Dept. of Health and Human Services.
The group added that the framework will provide a roadmap of best practices, principles, and pillars that anyone can apply to their work.
SAMHSA Harm Reduction Framework
The framework includes "core practices," which the document describes as effective methods for harm reduction that reflect community understanding, experience, strengths and needs.
Under the core practice area of "safer practices," both fentanyl test strips and naloxone distribution are listed as examples of key strategies.
