Opioid Settlement and Community Voice- In the News: NC is getting a huge opioid settlement. Here’s what should happen next: a statement in the Charlotte Observer.
- Overview: Four North Carolina foundation leaders, including the Winer Family Foundation's president Liz Star Winer, urge the state and counties to take a community-driven approach to determine how opioid settlement funds are distributed to prevent, address and treat opioid and substance misuse moving forward.
- The Urgent Need: More than 16,000 North Carolinians have died as a result of the opioid crisis, and every county across the state has been impacted. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the crisis with substance misuse and overdoses on the rise over the past year.
- Quote: "We know community members are the experts on what they need to live healthy lives, and their voices are critical as we work to identify additional solutions."
- Related Funding Opportunities: The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts has issued an RFP for its Engaging and Empowering Vulnerable Families and Communities to Prevent Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose grant opportunity. This RFP targets projects which can develop, adapt, explore, and/or evaluate promising evidence-based models of family- and community-based prevention for opioid use disorder and overdose.
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Dispatch from ACEs-Informed Courts in NC- The Updates: The newly-formed Chief Justice's Task Force on ACEs-Informed Courts, which will develop strategies for addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in NC's court system, kicked off the first official meeting on August 20 (see press release here). In collaboration with the Task Force, the Bolch Judicial Institute at Duke Law School developed and administered a pilot version of a trauma education curriculum designed for NC’s judges the week after, on August 27.
- Dive In: -to this blog post via Duke Law's Wilson Center for Science and Justice, which includes updates from the Task Force, stats on the effects of trauma on justice-involved youth, related studies and legislation in other states, and quotes from Task Force members. And, don't miss this blog post summarizing the Bolch Judicial Institute's pilot education program.
- Quote: “I hope that it will help to transform the minds of decision makers in the juvenile justice system by helping them to view the children and families involved in these cases through a trauma-informed lens. If court officials are better equipped to identify and understand ACEs, they can respond more appropriately and create better outcomes for these youth.” - LaToya B. Powell, Assistant Legal Counsel of the Office of General Counsel in the North Carolina Judicial Branch, and member of the Task Force.
- What's Next: The next quarterly meeting of the Task Force will take place in November. Going forward, the NC Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) intends to provide ACEs training to the over 6,000 employees of the Judicial Branch.
- Bonus: Charlotte's NPR station, WFAE, recently released a segment about how social determinants of health - like access to healthy foods, safe housing and transportation - and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have lifetime impacts on our health.
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Reducing Racial Disparities in Maternal Health- The Issue: As we highlighted in our last newsletter, there are wide racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes in our state. Two ways to address this issue are through lifting up data and voices of community members.
- New Research Underway: The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) recently awarded the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine a $10 million grant for the Accountability for Care through Undoing Racism and Equity for Moms (ACURE4Moms) study, which aims to decrease pregnancy complications for all patients, but especially for Black patients, by decreasing institutional racism and bias in health care and improving community-based social support during pregnancy.
- Engaging Stakeholders: Of note, this study is led by a stakeholder advisory board, which includes patients of color who have had a pregnancy complication, community doulas, practice representatives, health insurance payers, a patient advocacy group, healthcare organizations, and the North Carolina Department of Public Health. The majority of members will be people of color.
- Tune In: We recently heard a roundtable event, Fostering Black Maternal Health, co-hosted by Episcopalians United Against Racism with Communities in Partnership (CIP), which featured rich conversation with community advocates and doulas from Durham.
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- Cohort Facilitator: Supporting Grassroots Efforts to Promote Equitable Early Childhood Outcomes: The Blue Cross NC Foundation and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust seek a consultant to facilitate a cohort of 14 community-based grantees that are pursuing local and state-level advocacy goals. Deadline extended to September 3.
- Engaging and Empowering Vulnerable Families and Communities to Prevent Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose. The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts is seeking projects which can develop, adapt, explore, and/or evaluate promising evidence-based models of family- and community-based prevention for OUD and overdose. Applicants may apply for a grant of up to $500,000 a year for up to three years. Applications will be accepted until September 20, and grants will be awarded in early 2022.
- 2021 Movement Infrastructure Fund: Cypress Fund’s Movement Infrastructure Fund provides multi-year general capacity funding for organizations and movement leaders building across areas including Black liberation and economic justice, gender and reproductive justice, and more. Ends September 21.
- Innovations in Early Childhood: Smart Start of Mecklenburg County's second round of innovation grants will support $10,000 – $30,000 projects championing equitable access and opportunities for all in early childhood in Mecklenburg County. Smart Start is interested in funding projects that engage community voices, particularly communities of color, to build equitable solutions. Ends October 15.
- Prevention of Perinatal Depression: Improving Intervention Delivery for At-Risk Individuals: This funding opportunity from the National Institutes of Health encourages research that addresses major research gaps identified by the US Preventive Services Task Force related to perinatal depression. This grant emphasizes underserved populations. Ends November 9.
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| NC Boards and Commissions |
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The NC Boards and Commissions office facilitates appointments to state boards and commissions. Each year, over 600 appointees complete their service, providing opportunities for North Carolinians statewide to apply to serve or to recommend someone else. Serving on a board or commission is an opportunity to be involved with public service, share expertise, and help make decisions that can shape quality of life across the state.
Current openings include the Council for Women, Early Childhood Advisory Council, Hispanic/Latino Affairs Advisory Council, Internship Council, and more. |
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| Dogwood Health Trust curates a comprehensive list of federal and foundation funding opportunities through its Leverage Fund. Learn more about how the Fund helps match nonprofits with the right grant writer, and supports other costs associated with preparing a grant application, such as travel stipends or meeting costs. |
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“If you’re experiencing ACES, and then on top of that, you’re struggling with homelessness or there’s not enough food on the table, you’re compounding the effect of ACEs."
- Dr. Shivani Mehta, pediatrician at Atrium Health and WFF grantee, in a recent WFAE segment about how our zip codes can determine lifelong health outcomes.
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