Last November, Mitchell and Yancey counties came together to learn about how substance use impacts lives from the real experiences of people in our communities during three Community Sensemaking Sessions. The sessions provided a space for conversation and shared learning, where a variety of perspectives related to substance use, including those with lived experience were heard. The goal of the events was not only to learn from a wide variety of personal experiences, but to also identify suggestions that inform policies, programs, support systems, and strategies that create a compassionate and informed approach to substance misuse and addiction, and make our communities more supportive for everyone.
This community learning process was guided by a small Core Team of Mitchell and Yancey County government representatives and community-based public health organizations, including Partners Aligned Toward Health and Mountain Community Health Partnership. The process was supported by a team of consultants including WNC Health Network, and sponsored by Mitchell and Yancey County Governments with grant funding from Dogwood Health Trust.
The sessions provided a welcoming space for people from a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences to come together to learn from each other and understand the experience of substance use and addiction from multiple perspectives: engaged community members, individuals with personal experience of using drugs, family members, friends, and others who are connected to someone who uses or has used drugs, healthcare providers, front-line responders, law enforcement and criminal justice staff, public health, and social service agency people all brought their unique experiences and perspectives to the sessions.
The Community Sensemaking sessions, held in both counties, explored real lived experiences shared by people in our community. Through conversations and collaborative activities, these stories served as a way to better understand the big picture of substance use in our counties and find ways to move forward together. The goal of the sessions was to create practical steps to address the challenge of opioid and substance misuse in our communities. The insights gathered at the events will influence policies, programs, education, community actions, and recommendations for local opioid settlement funds.
If you were engaged in the process and want to stay involved in community solutions addressing these issues, please join the Mitchell Yancey Substance Abuse Task Force for strategic planning in February and March. Contact Jessica Zucchino for details: jessica@pathwnc.org.
If you want more information or to become involved in working with the Mitchell Yancey Substance Abuse Task Force, contact Partners Aligned Toward Health (PATH) at 828-682-7899, info@pathwnc.org, or www.pathwnc.org.
