Partners in Health & Wholeness

An initiative of the NC Council of Churches

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Harm Reduction

2020-2021 Overdose Deaths Heartbreaking Record

By Elizabeth Brewington, Overdose Response Program Coordinator

On November 17, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control released annual data on the number of unintentional overdose deaths in the United States. For the first time, this number topped 100,000 people. A number this large makes it easy to be desensitized to what it all means. To offer perspective as a North Carolinian, that […]

2020-2021 Overdose Deaths Heartbreaking Record

· by Elizabeth Brewington, Overdose Response Program Coordinator

On November 17, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control released annual data on the number of unintentional overdose deaths in the United States. For the first time, this number topped 100,000 people. A number this large makes it easy to be desensitized to what it all means. To offer perspective as a North Carolinian, that […]

September – National Recovery Month

By Elizabeth Brewington, Overdose Response Program Coordinator

This month we recognize National Recovery Month and celebrate everyone who is in recovery however they define that to be. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines recovery as “a process of change through which people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.” Just as […]

September – National Recovery Month

· by Elizabeth Brewington, Overdose Response Program Coordinator

This month we recognize National Recovery Month and celebrate everyone who is in recovery however they define that to be. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines recovery as “a process of change through which people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.” Just as […]

Spotlight: Olive Branch Ministry

By Lindsay Barth, Event Coordinator & PHW Communications Associate

HICKORY, NC — Founded by the Rev. Michelle Mathis and her wife Karen Lowe, Olive Branch Ministry is a faith-based harm reduction agency covering nine counties in the foothills and piedmont of North Carolina. The ministry which includes  a syringe exchange program, post overdose response team, homeless outreach and a holistic harm reduction center continues […]

Spotlight: Olive Branch Ministry

· by Lindsay Barth, Event Coordinator & PHW Communications Associate

HICKORY, NC — Founded by the Rev. Michelle Mathis and her wife Karen Lowe, Olive Branch Ministry is a faith-based harm reduction agency covering nine counties in the foothills and piedmont of North Carolina. The ministry which includes  a syringe exchange program, post overdose response team, homeless outreach and a holistic harm reduction center continues […]