The "Story Behind the Curve" helps us understand why the data on is the way that it is in our community. When we understand the root causes of our community problems, we have a better chance of finding the right solutions, together.

What's Helping? These are the positive forces at work in our community and beyond that influence this issue in our community.

• Several outpatient facilities in Haywood County offer treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder, including counseling and support, information about employment resources, health education services.
• Community support groups
• Non-privatized alcohol retail stores (only liquor) and limited hours of sale.
• Law enforcement leadership, combined with government and healthcare leadership, make it possible tackle the issue as a community.

What's Hurting? These are the negative forces at work in our community and beyond that influence this issue in our community.

• Alcohol consumption increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to various factors, such as coping with pandemic-related stressors and disrupted treatment access. 
• Nearly 57% of adults report feeling lonely often, some of the time, or occasionally (2024 WNC Healthy Impact Community Health Survey, WNC Health Network, Inc. [Item 65]).  
• Over 16% of adults report feeling dissatisfied with life.  (2024 WNC Healthy Impact Community Health Survey, WNC Health Network, Inc. [Item 58])
• Add data about coping, feeling hopeful, feeling dissatisfied with life.  
• Local data about youth substance use is lacking, which hinders the community's ability to apply for federal funding.  
• Many residents lack adequate housing, living-wage employment, transportation barriers and insurance coverage, making it more difficult to achieve and sustain recovery from substance use and mental health disorders.  Over 18% of the county adults reported lacking health care insurance coverage (2024 WNC Healthy Impact Community Health Survey, WNC Health Network, Inc. [Item 86]).  Over 20% were unable to get medical care at some point in the past year.  (2024 WNC Healthy Impact Community Health Survey, WNC Health Network, Inc. [Item 7])

Partners With a Role in Helping Our Community Do Better on This Issue:

The following actions have been identified by our trauma-informed system of care community advocates, the Substance Use Prevention Alliance, and community members as ideas for what can work for our community to make a difference on Substance Use and Mental Health using a trauma-informed system of care.

(A) Actions and Approaches Identified by Our Partners These are actions and approaches that our partners think can make a difference on substance use disroder and the long-term impacts of trauma.

• Adverse Childhood Experiences/Trauma- developing a Community Resilience Plan 
• Conduct community education about overdose prevention and reversal.  
• Provide risk mitigation services, including naloxone and post-overdose response.  
• Coordinate presentations by first responders and risk mitigation staff for the Substance Use Prevention Alliance.  Presentations will include post-overdose response protocol and information about risk mitigation interventions.
• Maintaining long-term provider & patient relationships: continuity of care

(B) What is Currently Working in Our Community These are actions and approaches that are currently in place in our community to make a difference on substance use disroder and the long-term impacts of trauma.

• Education about safer prescribing practices and naloxone administration.  
• Education about the effects along the lifespan that trauma may cause.
• Medication-Assisted Treatment- MAT is an evidence-based method for treating Substance Use Disorders.  Haywood County has several agencies that provide MAT.   Clinics also exist in neighboring counties. 

(C) Evidence-Based Strategies These are actions and approaches that have been shown to make a difference on substance use disroder and the long-term impacts of trauma.

Process for Selecting Priority Strategies

Haywood County used a process planning tool refered to as the "Getting to Strategies: Process Plan" designed to move from health priorities to Community Health Improvement Plan strategies. This tool assissted in facilitation when discussing priorities and strategies with work groups. Seven questions were presented to identify: Our ideal vision of Haywood County; What in our community would require change to accomplish our vision; What are the most important measures to reflect positive change; Who plays a role in creating change; What past and current strategies work to make positive change; and What we propose to do this Community Health Improvement Plan cycle (questions below). Once all of our work groups, partners, and community members in attendance agreed on proposed strategies (keeping in mind feasibility, sustainability, level of impact in regard to current resources and capacity) the group voted for their top three substance use and mental health strategies.

• Questions:
  • What are the quality-of-life conditions we want for the people who live in our community?
  • How can we measure these conditions?
  • What would these conditions look like if we could see them?
  • How are we doing on the most important of these measures?
  • Who are the partners who have a role to play in doing better?
  • What works to do better?
  • What do we propose to do?