The Opioid Awareness Campaign was identified by Jackson County local government, the Jackson County Community Foundation, and the School Health Advisory Council as a program that, when combined with other actions in our community, has a reasonable chance of making a difference in opioid misuse and overdoses in Jackson County. The Opioid Awareness Campaign is a community effort raising awareness on this nationwide epidemic.  A large focus of the Campaign is making sure medications are disposed of properly to keep them out of hands of children and anyone who may misuse them.  Substance abuse prevention has been a focus in our community since 2011, however this specific September and October Opioid Awareness Campaign is new in our community.

The audience for this campaign is the community at large.  This strategy aims to make a difference at the individual level- increasing knowledge and influence on individual attitudes and beliefs towards health decisions and substance abuse disorder. Implementation will take place community-wide in Jackson County.  There will also be a community forum for community members and professionals held at Western Carolina University, as well as promotion in Jackson County Public Schools middle and high schools. 

The partners for this Opioid Awareness Campaign include:

Evaluation Plan:

We plan to evaluate the impact of the Opioid Awareness Campaign through the use of Results-Based Accountability^TM to monitor specific performance measures. We will be monitoring How Much, How Well and/or Better Off Performance Measures.  Our evaluation activities will be tracked in the Work Plan table, above. 

Sustainability Plan:

The following is our sustainability plan for the Opioid Awareness Campaign

• Use program performance measures to ensure ongoing effectiveness and demonstrate success to funder and other key stakeholders
• Establish a consistent financial base for the program
• Provide adequate staffing
  • At the conclusion of the 2019 Opioid Awareness Campaign (October 31, 2019), we will evaluate the effectiveness of the program by how many pounds of medication we received at the Medication Take Back events, as well as the number of media completed.  This will guide our efforts for the following year to make this sustainable.  By showing our funders how much we did, it is our hope that they will see the value in the campaign and provide funding next year. Additionally, a contract employee was needed to support this work so we will seek funding for a person in the future as well to make this sustainable.  
• Increase community awareness on the issue and demonstrate the value of the program to the public
  • Already we have seen the community come together for the awareness campaign. It has been implemented in a very crucial time in our County and is shedding light on the issue and impact the issue is having on our community members.

2020 Updates

The Health Department continued the work that began in 2019 but on a smaller scale due to funding and the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Health Department released a series of articles to local print and social media outlets in Western North Carolina, which includes regional Smoky Mountain News, The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians newspaper - The Cherokee One Feather, The Cashiers Chronicle, and The Sylva Herald.  The articles were:

• Basics of Opioids
• Opioid Misuse During the Pandemic
• Reducing Stigma
• Grandfamilies
• Risks, Signs & Symptoms

2019 Updates

Radio Media

• 14 stakeholders contacted for PSAs and interviews (WRGC)

• Three interviews conducted (WRGC)

  • Major Shannon Queen with Jackson County Sheriff’s Office

  • Superintendent Dr. Kim Elliott with Jackson County Public Schools

  • Director Eddie Wells with Jackson County Department on Aging

• Public Service Announcements completed and ran daily during September (WRGC)

• WCU radio interview with Lyndan Jones

Newspaper Articles

• Two submitted by the Health Department to the Cashiers Chronical, Cherokee One Feather, Smoky Mountain News, and Sylva Herald

• One interview and article written by Sylva Herald reporter Beth Lawrence

Newspaper Ads

• Color ad package purchased, with ads printed in each September issue

Billboards

• Two digital billboards on Highway 107 for September and October

Banners

• One at Cashiers intersection

• One at Walmart/Andy Shaw Ford intersection in Sylva

• One on the Qualla Boundary

Medication Take Back Events

• Friday, September 13th at Ingles in Cashiers

• Friday, September 27th at Walgreens in Sylva

Jackson County Public School Assemblies

• September 6th Smoky Mountain High School – 9th and 10 grades

• September 11th Blue Ridge High School – All grades

• September 13th Smoky Mountain High School – 11th and 12th grades

• September 17th The School of Alternatives – 8th through 12th grades

• September 20th Jackson County Early College – 9th through 12th grades

• Additionally, LAW Publications magazines were distributed to students