The goal of the Craven County Community Collaborative is to identify and support the best resources possible to reach the shared vision that everyone, regardless of financial means, will have access to the resources necessary for long term, meaningful recovery and that this creation of seamless systems of care begins at the local, community level.

The Craven County Community Collaborative has a demonstrated history of investment and passion for recovery support at the local level, and is home to a number of organizations/individuals actively involved in meaningful work. Building on years of organizational success at the state level, the Craven County Community Collaborative will amplify these efforts, assist in identifying gaps, create and implement action plans to create a model of a recovery supportive community which benefits the entire community.

The Craven County Community Collaborative brings community leaders together to assess the current state of resources supporting a healthy, recovery friendly community in our area. We identify existing resources, identify resource gaps and prioritize solutions based on the specific needs of our individual community.

Members represent every sector of the local county which intersects with the consequences of mood altering substance use. We work to become aware of one another. We share solutions with other Community Collaboratives across the state, offering mutual support and feedback.

Craven County was selected as a pilot location for the Community Collaboratives in North Carolina thanks to a grant from NCDHHS. Craven has a demonstrated history of investment and passion for recovery support at the local level, and is home to a number of organizations/individuals actively involved in meaningful work. Building on years of organizational success at the state level, the Craven Community Collaborative will amplify these efforts, assist in identifying gaps, create and implement action plans to create a model of a recovery supportive community which benefits the entire community.

The RAI coordinator for Craven County is Mark Devanney. He can be reached at Markd@recoveryall.org.

Craven County Collab meeting is held at the Harrison Center in downtown New Bern, NC on the 3^rd Thursday of every month at 1pm. Our next meeting will be Jan 18^th 2024.

Harrison center address: 311 Middle St, New Bern, NC 28560.

If you would like to attend, please email our coordinator Mark at markd@recoveryall.org so we have a headcount.

National settlements will help bring needed resources and $1.5 billion to North Carolina.  As part of these settlements, Craven County has agreed to receive funds and abide by the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the State of North Carolina and Local Governments on Proceeds Relating to the Settlement of Opioid Litigation.  

Craven County is estimated to receive $15.6 million over the next 18 years. The MOA requires that the funds are spent in specific ways.  

Under the North Carolina Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) governing opioid settlement funds, a local government must spend opioid settlement funds on opioid remediation activities authorized under Option A and/or Option B.  

Under Option A, a local government may fund one or more strategies from a shorter list of approved high impact strategies listed in Exhibit A of the MOA.

Under Option B, a local government must first undertake the following steps:

1. Engage in a collaborative strategic planning process described in Exhibit C;
2. Draft a report and recommendations, including all of the contents described in the right-hand column of Exhibit C;
3. Present the report and recommendations to the local governing body, such as the county board or city council;
4. Submit the report and recommendations to CORE-NC within 90 days of the date the report and recommendations were presented to the local governing body.

Once the report and recommendations have been submitted to the local governing body for consideration, the local governing body may decide to fund one or more strategies from the shorter list of approved strategies listed in Exhibit A and/or the longer list of strategies from the national settlements in Exhibit B. 

Collaborative strategic planning worksheets

The goal for the strategic plan is to maximize flexibility and adapt the funds to strategies which are targeted to Craven’s specific needs. The process will involve all the stakeholders who will examine the current resources, discuss the root causes of the crisis, identify gaps in care, and develop a plan which addresses the crisis to increase positive outcomes and create a resilient community to address these challenges in the future.

The MOA recommends that an outside facilitator be used for the strategic planning process. Craven has chosen to partner with The Recovery Alliance Initiative (RAI) to provide that facilitation. RAI has worked with many of the stakeholders in Craven County as a part of RAI’s Community Collaborative. 

Please continue to monitor this web page for more information and resources directly related to the strategic planning process.

To be included in future emails regarding the process, please send an email to Mariel Di Palma at mariels@recoveryall.org.

Resources

NC Opioid Settlement Information

https://ncopioidsettlement.org/

https://www.ncacc.org/services-for-counties/disaster-preparedness-and-recovery/opioid-litigation-settlement/

Craven County 

Opioid Epidemic Community Information

Opioid Task Force and Strategic Plan - 2017