North Carolina is adding funding to help those battling opioid addiction

North Carolina is putting more funding toward expanding treatment for those battling opioid addiction. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is awarding nearly $16 million to 20 health care centers, treatment clinics, and community-based providers across the state. According to a news release, the money is aimed at expanding treatment services for those with opioid use disorder, and supporting pilot programs surrounding employment, housing, and transportation.

Among those receiving grants in the Triad are the NC Survivors Union in Greensboro and Caring Services in High Point.

The Mediation and Restorative Justice Center in Boone will receive $800,000.

Mollie Furman is a program coordinator with the center, which serves eleven counties in Western North Carolina and the High Country.

Furman says that not only will the funding help sustain existing programs, but it will also help kickstart long-desired projects.

"Our dream is to open a peer-recovery community center for Watauga that would house those programs and take on new initiatives," says Furman. 

The grant money comes from a multi-state opioid settlement.

NCDHHS says accidental drug overdose is the number one cause of accidental deaths in North Carolina and nationwide.