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Beaufort County has received more than $5.7 million in funding from major, multi-state settlements with manufacturers and distributors for their part in the opioid crisis. 

In 2021, Governor Josh Stein (then Attorney General) won in a historic, multi-state settlement with major pharmaceutical companies for their roles in an opioid epidemic. The settlement reached $26 billion and similar settlements followed. Over the next 18 years, North Carolina is set to receive more than $1.4 billion with $1.2 billion going to counties to address the opioid overdose crisis, according to the North Carolina Department of Justice.

Beaufort county received $3.1 million initially but received more money after additional litigation and settlements to equal $5.7 million. The money will be used to fund addiction prevention and intervention initiatives. Payment installments started in 2022 and will continue through 2038. 

Behavioral Task Force Coordinator for Beaufort County, Tiffany Moore, shared how the task force has used a portion of the money thus far and how it plans to use future funding. 

The Behavioral Task Force was created in 2017 to help citizens with mental health issues and substance use disorders improve the quality of their lives by providing relevant resources and services. The task force also serves unhoused citizens, citizens facing food insecurity and other social detriments that may be the underlying reasons why they misuse or abuse substances. It operates under the Beaufort County Department of Public Health. 

The Behavioral Task Force received the total $ 5.7 million, because they already implement many of the initiatives required to receive the funding. 

Moore said when initial payments were first announced, task force members were hesitant to celebrate the delivery of the $3.1 million in funding, because they were unsure if Beaufort County would actually receive the funding. However, when task force members were pleasantly surprised to learn that the money would be delivered, they saw it as a “privilege to be entrusted with it,” she said. 

From fiscal year 2022-2023 to 2024-2025, the task force has received $1.7 million. The largest payout they received was $840,000 and it will be the largest payout they receive. For fiscal year 2025-2026, it is set to receive $460,000. 

A portion of the money has gone toward funding two opioid peer support specialists, substance misuse health education for teens ages 11-14 through an education intervention program, community projects that address substance misuse and/or prevention and more. 

Opioid peer support specialists are individuals with lived experiences of substance misuse who mentor, support and encourage people in active drug use to reach their goals and follow their recovery plans. The program also includes a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor. According to the Behavioral Task Force, there are 51 participants in the peer support program that are recovering from either opioid use disorder or substance use disorder. 

“​​55% of participants demonstrated long-term stability through employment, housing, continued treatment, or educational enrollment, transportation, insurance, or legal navigation; 18 participants were discharged after achieving key goals of stability; 5 participants graduated from Recovery or Treatment court; 10% gained or regained driver’s licenses—supporting independence and employment; 8% were linked to higher education or vocational programs; 12% gained access to stable housing after previously being unhoused or unstable; 70% (approx. 36) remain active in treatment or Recovery Court,” according to the task force. 

“They are our boots on the ground. They are out there doing the hard work with the individuals,” Moore said. 

Moore explained that during the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, opioid prescriptions were capped and many doctors and pharmacies that were involved stopped prescribing and distributing copious amounts of opioids. During that time, however, many people became dependent on opioids which led them to using illicit, street drugs like heroin and fentanyl. 

“A lot of people who were addicted to Oxycotin, Xanaxes and medications like that are now using heroin. They’re using fentanyl, believe it or not which was crazy to me when I first found out. Like, it’s not just laced in it,” Moore said. “A lot of people actually overdose, because they go to buy one drug and it’s laced with fentanyl, but now fentanyl has become so prevalent; people are building a tolerance of that, too.” 

While the manufacturing, prescribing and distributing of opioids has decreased, the side effect is that there is an increased use of illicit drugs. 

In talking about substance misuse prevention, Moore said teenagers, local ones included, have easy access to opioids and other substances through social media apps in addition to substances that may be used by a family member at home. Moore said teens are engaging with substances at earlier ages, as early as middle school. 

“We know that our kids are engaging in substance use at earlier ages. A lot of them are using substances and they don’t actually know what they are using,” Moore said. The task force is going into schools and working with community organizations to educate teens about substance use with the hope that it either prevents engaging in substance abuse or delays the age of early onset substance abuse. 

Moore said substance abuse is “very prevalent” among teenagers in Beaufort County. It is even impacting a small number of elementary school kids, because they are picking up things that their parents use. 

“Especially vapes,” Moore said. “With vapes, we want to think it’s just smoking, but a lot of times, it’s marijuana in those vapes. It’s different substances. So if they pick up a marijuana vape, they’re getting high and they have no idea – that wasn’t the intent,” 

“A lot of times, their parents will leave things around and they just pick them up and it may not be a vape. It could be a pill or something. We know there have been accidental overdoses, because kids have these gummies and these edibles and things they’re taking. They look at it as candy and it’s not candy,” Moore said.    

Overall, Beaufort County has seen a decrease in the number of reported overdoses in the last year. This year, there have been an estimated 19 reported overdoses. Last year, there were an estimated 140 overdoses total, Moore said. 

In the last five years, Beaufort County has seen an average of 16-22 overdose related deaths each year. Moore explained that the number of reported overdoses (from emergency department visits to overdose deaths) in Beaufort County is above the state’s average. One reason why Beaufort County’s numbers look higher, is because the county has a smaller population than most counties in the state. 

“That’s one reason why we had to take action. We were seeing that we were topping out,” Moore said about the task force. 

The North Carolina Department of Public Health shares that an estimated 3,035 individuals (eight per day) are suspected to have died from an overdose in 2024. From 2000-2023, more than 41,500 North Carolinians lost their lives to a drug overdose. Each day in 2023, 12 North Carolinians died from a drug overdose. 

To help address substance misuse in Beaufort County the task force has teamed up with local organizations with similar missions. These organizations include: Mae’s Outreach Center, District Two Recovery Court, Prevention Point and Daughters of Worth.

Money from the opioid settlement will go toward helping these organizations support their programs. 

An added benefit of the opioid settlement money is that it gets people talking about prevention and intervention related to drug use, Moore said. It helps bring awareness to drug-related issues and helps the county partner with local organizations.

“Now with these funds out here, people have to talk about it, especially people who don’t want to talk about it…We’ve had a history of substance use being taboo, but now it’s coming to the open. Everyone is involved with it. The more you can talk about it, the more people that you can help, because those people will trust you to come out and actually seek the help they need,” Moore said.