Topics Related to Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services

MEDIA ADVISORY — Credentialed media are invited to attend the "Responding to the Opioid and Substance Use Crisis in North Carolina’s Rural Coastal Communities" conference on September 19, 2025, in Morehead City. Kelly Crosbie, Director of the Division of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Substance Use Services at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, will deliver the keynote address on how opioid use impacts rural coastal communities.

PRESS RELEASE — North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is celebrating national 988 Day and commemorating the second anniversary of American Sign Language (ASL) service being available through the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

On Aug. 25, NCDHHS’ Deputy Secretary of Health, Debra Farrington, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion of ECU Health’s new Behavioral Health Hospital in Greenville. The ECU Health Behavioral Health Hospital is scheduled to welcome patients in September with 144 beds to serve both adults and children.

MEDIA ADVISORY — Credentialed media are invited to attend a ceremony on Sept. 8, 2025, commemorating 988 Day and the second anniversary of ASL being offered through the nationwide 988 service. The event will be held at the REAL Crisis Center in Greenville, which is the state center for answering calls to the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

MEDIA ADVISORY — Credentialed media and members of the public are invited to attend Ignite Your Future: A Project Spark Event, hosted by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Project Spark was created by NCDHHS to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) explore, prepare for and keep a job in their community and is paid for by the U.S. Department of Education. Project Spark also helps people with I/DD transition from subminimum wage jobs to competitive, integrated employment alongside their peers.

PRESS RELEASE — North Carolina on Tuesday took an innovative step in efforts to reduce opioid use and related deaths with the launch of the state’s first Mobile Opioid Treatment Program. First Lady Anna Stein helped celebrate the occasion at a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Kelly Crosbie, Director of the NC Department of Health and Human Services Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services, and Dr. Eric Morse, founder and president of Morse Clinics.

MEDIA ADVISORY — Credentialed media are invited to attend the unveiling of the first Mobile Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) unit in North Carolina. Mobile OTPs reduce barriers to participation in treatment by making it easier for those seeking treatment to move into and maintain recovery. The mobile unit is sponsored by Morse Clinics opioid treatment programs in North Carolina. Morse Clinics are committed to providing Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) and counseling services for those experiencing Opioid Use Disorder. Morse Clinics serve Wake, Chatham, Johnston, Halifax, Granville,

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Community College System have partnered to launch an Advanced Training Certificate program for current Direct Support Professionals or people interested in pursuing a career in the field. The DSP workforce is critical in helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live, work and thrive in communities of their choice. They provide a wide range of supports from daily tasks like bathing, eating and taking medications to connecting people with community resources and employment

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the launch of a two-year pilot program in which 22 Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF) for youth, operated by seven provider agencies, will begin using an innovative system called Ukeru® to de-escalate crises. Ukeru is a safe and comforting alternative to restraint and seclusion, which are high-risk techniques used to contain someone who is considered a danger to themselves or others.

PRESS RELEASE — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Talkspace, a virtual therapy platform now available for free to justice-impacted teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 in North Carolina.