Rescue mission in hardest-hit area keeps helping without needed funding.
Richmond County sits in a part of North Carolina where hardship tied to drug use has grown heavier each year, and one small rescue mission has become a lifeline for people with nowhere else to go. The Richmond County Rescue Mission sits in a former school on the east side of Rockingham, an area long marked by job loss, poverty, and a flood of fentanyl that has taken lives at a staggering pace. The mission is the county’s only homeless shelter, and day after day it provides meals, clothing, showers, emergency beds in cold weather, and a place where people can begin to rebuild their lives. Yet even as it sits in the middle of a community hit hardest by overdose deaths, it has been unable to secure a single dollar of the opioid settlement money flowing into the county.
The mission’s impact is seen in stories like that of a woman who once overdosed nine times in one year and left jail determined to change her life. With no safe place to go, she arrived at the mission with her daughter. They lived there for more than a year while she attended classes, earned her GED, regained her driver’s license, received counseling, and learned the basics needed to stand on her own again. Today she works as a certified peer support specialist, helps others find their footing, and continues to return to the mission to support those just starting out. She credits the mission with giving her stability and a sense of direction during the hardest part of her life.
Despite carrying much of the county’s burden around homelessness, recovery support, and basic survival needs, the mission operates without full-time staff. More than 2,000 volunteer hours each month keep the doors open. Its food pantry helps hundreds of families each month, and its clothing closet sees adults and children come through nonstop. The need in east Rockingham is constant, yet the mission has repeatedly been passed over for settlement funding.
Opioid settlements have sent billions across the country, with North Carolina receiving more than a billion dollars to be spread across nearly two decades. Local governments decide where the money goes, following rules laid out in a statewide agreement. Each county must vote on spending in public meetings, and the state tracks every dollar through a public dashboard. Many counties have used the funds for naloxone, treatment programs, jail-based medication programs, and school training. Richmond County has done the same. But the rescue mission’s requests have been denied year after year without a clear explanation.
Local leaders involved in funding decisions say the county faces more requests than available dollars. Others argue that groups already working alongside the mission have received funding, and that indirect support reaches the mission through those partnerships. Still, mission leaders believe east Rockingham carries a stigma that affects decisions, describing the area as overlooked and treated as though the people living there are problems to manage rather than neighbors in need of help.
Some county leaders have voiced support for the mission and frustration over its lack of funding, saying many of the reasons used to deny its applications do not hold up. The mission has submitted strong support from business owners, educators, faith leaders, medical staff, and law enforcement. Community college programs held onsite have helped dozens find work and stable housing. Those who teach and volunteer there say the mission changes lives every day but lacks the recognition and funding needed to keep up with demand.
The rescue mission hopes future decisions will open the door to support, allowing it to house families safely, expand programs, and continue offering a place to rest, recover, and start again. In a county where overdose deaths remain the highest in the state, the mission sees the settlement money as a chance to save more lives in a community that needs all the help it can get.
Sources:
The rescue mission at the heart of NC’s opioid crisis
The rescue mission at the heart of NC’s opioid crisis — and the money it can’t reach
Join the conversation!