ONE YEAR: Quick Response Team helps 120+ people get drug treatment

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The opioid epidemic continues to destroy the lives of people across the Cape Fear, but Coastal Horizons Center has put their team to work to combat it.

The Coastal Horizons Quick Response Team says they are already seeing success after one year of operation.

The team is made up of peer support specialists and licensed therapists who are trained in interventions.

For the fiscal year of 2018-2019, the team met with 148 people and connected 122 of them to treatment.

“The Quick Response Team model we have built really works,” Vice President of Clinical Services for Coastal Horizons Kenny House wrote in a news release. “The key elements to success have been a combination of community partnerships, dedicated staff and the removal of the barriers that often keep people from seeking help.”

Quick Response Team Supervisor Buffy Taylor says despite the success, they still have a long way to go.

“There were 5 overdoses and 2 deaths during our first year of operation,” Taylor wrote. “You cannot arrest or legislate your way out of this crisis. This is a disease.”

Learn more about Coastal Horizons Center.