The Davidson County Stop Prescription Abuse Now (DCSPAN) coalition was originally formed in response to the rising number of drug overdoses caused by prescription opioids in Davidson County. However, as the opioid and substance use crisis evolved, the coalition lost momentum. In 2021, DCSPAN was rebranded as Partners in Prevention (PIP).

The mission of Partners in Prevention is to raise awareness of the substance use crisis in Davidson County, provide education on substance use, and implement evidence-based strategies from the North Carolina Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan. PIP serves all individuals who live, work, learn, or play in Davidson County. The coalition uses data from the Community Health Needs Assessment to guide its efforts, and individuals with lived experience play a key role in raising awareness about substance use disorder while sharing prevention strategies throughout the community.

In the year of 2022, Partners in Prevention addressed that the most used drugs in Davidson County were Heroin, Meth and Fentanyl. There were many ongoing discussions about the distribution of drop boxes in Davidson Medical Ministries in both Thomasville and Lexington locations as well as Thomasville Medical Center. With the help of the COVID relief fund we hope to be able to provide additional resources towards the drug usage. 

The program continued to meet periodically across 2023. Queen City Harm Reduction provided many resources for residents in Davidson County. Unfortunately, in February they no longer provided services due to issues of funding and demand in nearby counties. Partners in Prevention made it their mission to be able to seek funding, to promote naloxone awareness, training and distribution to Davidson County. The nearest harm reduction services for Davidson County Residents are in neighboring counties such as Guildford and Forsyth. 

Even though Partners in Prevention is still a coalition in 2024, it is still unclear how the Davidson County portion of the opioid settlement fund will be distributed within the community. There was not much progress to report.