- Health Care
Inside North Carolina’s Expanding Peer Support Network
Thanos first stepped into the peer cafe across from the bus station in downtown Raleigh looking for his friend — and the promise of a free coffee. What keeps him coming back months later is a community of people and group sessions that have supported his substance use recovery. “Everybody in this…
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Light Rail Killing Exposes Gaps in NC’s Mental Health System
In early September, video of a man stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a light rail car in Charlotte shocked the country. People from across the political spectrum demanded answers: How does a horrific, unprovoked attack occur between two strangers? What needs to change so something like…
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Advocates Say Tougher ‘Death by Distribution’ Law Will Increase Overdose Deaths
With drug overdoses and deaths increasing in North Carolina, as they have in many parts of the country, a bill to strengthen penalties for illegal drug distribution is quickly moving through the state legislature. Senate Republicans introduced Senate Bill 189 in early March during a news conference where lawmakers were…
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Some Health Providers Endanger Patients by Ignoring Psychiatric Advance Directives
In late summer 2021, Sue came home from work to find her 24-year-old son Michael confused. He shrugged in response to most questions and muttered words that didn’t make much sense. Sue knew something was wrong because this wasn’t the first time this had happened. Michael was involved in the Eagle…
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As Mental Health Hotline Goes Live, Is North Carolina Ready?
The universal mental health crisis hotline, which can be reached by dialing 9-8-8, has gone live across the nation. The idea behind the shift from the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to the three-digit mental health crisis number is that it’s easy to remember — similar to 9-1-1 — and…
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Tension Builds Around How to Spend NC Opioid Settlement Money
The first payments from a $26-billion, multi-state opioid lawsuit settlement are set to arrive in the states later this spring, and in North Carolina, there are already disagreements over which groups are most qualified to receive the money. Over the course of 18 years, North Carolina will receive $750 million of…
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A New Option for Charlotteans in a Mental Health Crisis
On a patio tucked behind an old brick two-story house, Susan Hart sat on a glider surrounded by lush green plants under the glow of string lights. She wondered aloud what it would have been like to check herself into a place like this instead of a psychiatric hospital during…
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Psychiatric Patient Transport Left in Sheriffs’ Hands Despite Pitfalls
This is the third story in a three-part series about how more people in mental health crisis end up under involuntary commitment (IVC) for treatment and why that’s a problem, as originally reported and published by North Carolina Health News. You can read the first part here, which covers the…
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NC Didn’t Track Involuntary Commitment Data, So Advocates Did the Work
Advocates found the state had a big problem, but because no one was counting, no one was aware of how many psychiatric patients were being treated against their will. This is the second story in a series about how more people in mental health crisis end up under involuntary commitment…
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Involuntary Commitments on the Rise Despite Warnings from Experts
This is the first story in a three-part series about how more people in mental health crisis end up under involuntary commitment (IVC) for treatment and why that’s a problem, as originally reported and published by North Carolina Health News. You can read the second part here, which covers efforts to…
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