Partners
The partners for the Mitchell-Yancey Substance Abuse Task Force include:
Agency |
Person |
Role |
Partners Aligned Toward Health (PATH) | Jessica Zucchino, Substance Misuse Program Manager |
Lead |
Mountain Community Health Partnership |
Meghan Graham, Cassie York, and Andrew Howell |
Advisory Committee |
Dr. Dan Barron | Advisory Committee | |
Mechelle Akers, Retired Pharmacist | Advisory Committee | |
NC Cooperative Extension | Niki Maness, Extension Agent, Family and Consumer Sciences | Advisory Committee |
Amy Earnheart, Behavioral Health Private Practice | Advisory Committee | |
RHA Health Services | Aimee Fambrough | Support |
Center for Rural Health Innovation/Health-e-Schools | Amanda North, Executive Director | Support |
Mitchell County Schools | Angela Atkins, Social Worker | Support |
Yancey County Schools | Kristin Buchanan, Social Worker | Support |
Yancey Sheriff's Department | Sheriff Shane Hilliard | Support |
Blue Ridge Regional Hospital | Tonia Hale, CEO | Support |
Spruce Pine Police Department | Chief Bill Summerlin | Support |
Burnsville Police Department | Chief Brian Buchanan | Support |
Mitchell Sheriff's Department | Sheriff Donald Street | Support |
Burnsville ABC | Brian Franklin | Support |
WKYK/WTOE | Bruce Ikard | Support |
Dr. Chad Smoker | Support | |
Yancey County Health Department | Morgan Peterson, Health Educator | Support |
VAYA Health | Dustin Burleson | Support |
Eleanor Health | Dr. Steve North | Support |
Addiction Professionals of North Carolina | Hillary Belk | Support |
Mitchell County DSS | Support | |
Yancey County DSS | Support | |
Mayland Community College | Monica Carpenter | Support |
Never 2 Scarred | Jessica Williams | Support |
Reconciliation House | John Miller, Executive Director | Support |
Blue Ridge Partnership for Children | Support | |
Mitchell County Senior Center | Kathy Garland | Support |
YMCA | Kate Willett, Director | Support |
SEARCH | Lisa Schultz | Support |
The Prescription Pad | Liz Elkins, Owner | Support |
SMART Recovery | Michel Guicheney | Support |
The Learning Shack | Pana Columbus, Executive Director | Support |
Mitchell County Transportation | Sheila Blalock, Director | Support |
Progress in 2022
The Mitchell-Yancey Substance Abuse Task Force (MYSATF) transitioned from virtual to hybrid meetings in 2022 to increase attendance at coalition meetings. MYSATF began conversations with Yancey County Government regarding supporting the upcoming opioid settlement process. The group supported Drug Take Back days and support a wide range of educational events. The group also distributed medication lockboxes and safe drug disposal materials in the Yancey County community.
Progress in 2023
MYSATF conducted lots of outreach this year including:
- Equipping local teachers with vaping and substance use prevention materials.
- Hosting a town hall with Celebrate Recovery in partnership with an Overdose Awareness event.
- Taking a leadership role in the "community learning process" about opioid and substance use in our county.
- Presenting the "Community Learning Process" results to the county comissioners as a guidance tool as they choose how to spend the opiod settlement funding.
- Collecting substance use and behavioral health data from local schools through the Modified Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
MYSATF continues ongoing research and planning to better our community.
Description
The Mitchell-Yancey Substance Abuse Task Force was identified as an action, that when combined with other actions in our community, has a reasonable chance of making a difference in behavioral health outcomes in Yancey County. This is an ongoing coalition in our community.
The customers for this coalition are all residents in Yancey and Mitchell counties. The Mitchell-Yancey Substance Abuse Task Force aims to make a difference at the individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy change levels. Meetings take place at various locations in Mitchell and Yancey counties, as well as other initiatives and programs.
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