Wake County Invests $750,000 in Opioid Settlement Funds to Expand Youth Prevention and Early Intervention Programs

Wake County has awarded more than $750,000 in opioid settlement funds to four community partners focused on youth prevention, education, and early intervention services. The announcement, made during Suicide Prevention and Recovery Month, underscores the county's strategy of reaching young people and families before behavioral health challenges escalate into crisis.

The awards represent a targeted slice of Wake County's broader opioid settlement allocation — approximately $70 million over 18 years — and signal a growing recognition across North Carolina that upstream investment in youth mental health can reduce long-term addiction and overdose risk.

What the $750,000 Will Fund

Wake County Behavioral Health selected four organizations to receive grants ranging from $125,000 to $250,000. Each program is designed to reach young people at different stages of risk, using culturally responsive and evidence-informed approaches:

El Futuro — $213,908

El Futuro will launch the Wake County Latino Youth and Family Substance Use Prevention and Early Intervention Initiative. The program is designed to be culturally responsive and family-centered, strengthening prevention and behavioral health support systems specifically for Latino youth and families in the county.

NAMI Wake — $250,000

NAMI Wake will expand the Young Minds Collective, a youth-focused early-intervention model that helps young people and the adults around them recognize warning signs, reduce stigma, and access support before distress escalates into crisis or substance use.

SouthLight Healthcare — $168,848

SouthLight Healthcare will implement the Youth Diversion and Early Intervention Program, an evidence-based behavioral health initiative serving youth and young adults ages 12–25 who may be at risk of substance misuse, overdose, or involvement with the justice system.

UCA WAVES — $125,000

UCA WAVES will provide overdose prevention training, one-on-one peer support, group support, and health education focused on opioid use and the social determinants of mental health. The program is tailored specifically to Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, including Asian refugees.

Why Early Intervention Matters

Wake County officials describe these grants as a deliberate shift toward the "upstream" end of the behavioral health continuum. Rather than focusing exclusively on overdose response and treatment — critical as those services are — the county is investing in programs that identify concerns earlier and expand protective factors for children, teens, and young adults.

"By investing in programs that prioritize prevention, education, and early intervention, we're ensuring that children, teens, and families have trusted places to turn before challenges become crises," said Wake County Commissioner Cheryl Stallings.

The approach aligns with growing research showing that early connection to mental health support can reduce the likelihood of later substance use disorders. For families, the grants mean more entry points to care — through schools, community organizations, and culturally specific programs — without requiring a crisis to trigger access.

The Larger Picture: Wake County's Opioid Settlement Strategy

These youth-focused grants sit within a much larger framework. Wake County's current funding plan for FY26 and FY27 allocates more than $19 million to community-identified strategies across the full continuum of behavioral health supports, from overdose prevention and crisis services to treatment and recovery support.

The county received a separate one-time payment of $331,532 from the McKinsey & Co settlement in addition to its share of the national opioid settlements.

Wake County is not alone in this approach. Across North Carolina, local governments are deciding how to deploy opioid settlement dollars within their communities. The state has emphasized flexibility, allowing counties to tailor investments to local needs — which in Wake County's case includes a rapidly growing youth population and increasing demand for culturally competent behavioral health services.

What This Means for Families

For parents and caregivers in Wake County, these grants translate into concrete new resources:

• Culturally specific support: Programs like El Futuro and UCA WAVES mean families can access services in linguistically and culturally appropriate settings.
• School and community connections: NAMI Wake's Young Minds Collective works to embed mental health literacy in the places where young people already spend time.
• Justice diversion: SouthLight Healthcare's program offers an alternative pathway for youth at risk of entering the justice system due to substance use or behavioral health challenges.
• No-cost access: Because these programs are funded through settlement dollars, many services will be available without cost to participants.

Families do not need to wait for a crisis to connect with these programs. Each organization will begin outreach and enrollment in the coming months, with services rolling out across the county through 2027.

Looking Ahead

Wake County's emphasis on youth prevention reflects a broader shift in how communities are thinking about the opioid crisis. While emergency response and treatment remain essential, the county is betting that reaching young people earlier — with the right support, in the right language, in the right community setting — will reduce the number of residents who ever reach the point of overdose or long-term addiction.

The programs will be monitored for outcomes including early identification of mental health and substance use concerns, successful connections to ongoing care, and reductions in justice system involvement among participants. Those results will inform future funding decisions as Wake County continues to deploy its opioid settlement dollars across the full spectrum of behavioral health needs.

For families seeking help now, the Wake County Behavioral Health website maintains a current list of funded programs and resources. The SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) provides free, confidential, 24/7 treatment referral and information for individuals and families facing mental and substance use disorders.