Craven County's H.O.P.E. is a volunteer organization deeply concerned about the impact of substance abuse in our community. The organization brings together a diverse group of individuals and professionals who share a common desire to address the problems of substance abuse on all levels. Our members include individuals from all sectors of the community, including parents, concerned citizens, local government, law enforcement, school officials and healthcare professionals. Our mission: To provide awareness, education and treatment options in the battle against heroin, opiates and alcohol addiction to those in Craven County.
Prevention: Prevent youth from using drugs/alcohol and provide parents with education and resources about risk factors leading to youth drug use and addiction. Create community awareness about local drug issues, addictions and impacts.
Treatment: Inspire families and those in need to seek treatment and assure timely, accessible and affordable treatment. Identify resources and information to connect users to treatment services. Provide support to those who have completed treatment to maintain sobriety.
Harm Reduction: Establish achievable goals which when taken step-by-step can lead to a healthier lifestyle for drug users, their children, families and communities by reducing infectious diseases and the number of overdoses and deaths.
Law Enforcement: Assist in drug-free lifestyle by holding defendants accountable to bond, release terms. Continue to prosecute heroin dealers. Police officers will continue to work to improve coordination with health services and other agencies that link drug users to immediate medical care, withdrawal management (detox), treatment and other counseling and prevention services.
Community Communication: Develop a heroin awareness website and utilize the internet and social media to promote regional overdose prevention treatment and recovery in general.
The Coastal Coalition for Substance Awareness & Prevention (CCSAP) is a five-county coalition covering Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow, and Pamlico counties. The organizational structure of CCSAP includes a Board of Directors who oversee the coalition across all five counties, a County Task Force in each of the counties served, and a regional Resilience Collaborative.
CCSAP's overarching goal is to prevent youth substance use by providing evidence-based prevention programs, raising awareness of the risk factors that can lead to the initiation of youth substance use, and increasing protective factors that minimize the risk of youth substance use. CCSAP focuses on an upstream approach, with a special focus on education and prevention efforts offered to schools, community organizations, faith-based organizations, youth-serving organizations, and other business and agencies.
CCSAP offers CATCH My Breath, SAMHSA's only evidence-based vaping prevention curriculum for schools, and can train others to implement the curriculum, in addition to promoting the INDEPTH alternative to suspension program. CCSAP utilizes Talk It Out NC, focused on helping parents and other responsible adults to start conversations with youth about the dangers of underage drinking, including how alcohol affects the brain, student success, and athletic performance for coaches and athletes, as well as SAMHSA's Talk They Hear You campaign.
CCSAP also promotes the Lock Your Meds campaign, providing medication lock boxes to safely store medication, and deactivation kits to safely dispose of unused medication. In addition, CCSAP offers community overdose reversal trainings and provides the life-saving medication, Narcan, to community members at no cost. CCSAP offers a range of trainings that include the Trauma-Sensitive Schools training, trauma-informed and resiliency-focused training for various agencies and organizations, Strengthening Families Framework, Circle of Security Parenting Series, and more. Lastly, CCSAP hosts film screenings, panel discussions, Healing Book Club, Trauma-Informed Summit, and the Resilience Symposium. Please visit CCSAP at: https://ccsap.org/