Horry only gets sliver of funding to fight opioids. Myrtle Beach leaders beg for more
With opioid and heroin-related deaths spiraling throughout Horry County, the Myrtle Beach City Council agreed on Thursday to urge state lawmakers to provide adequate funding for treatment centers and recovery services.
Following an extensive study that analyzed opioid use, drug overdoses, educational access and local policies, programs and services within Horry and Georgetown counties last year, Mayor Brenda Bethune said all key stakeholders need to develop action steps to eradicate the opioid issue and provide necessary services to those in need.
“This epidemic is nationwide and it knows no boundaries. It doesn’t affect one socioeconomic level over another,” Bethune said. “I am more than willing to work to seek state funding.”
Currently, the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services receives over $27 million annually in federal and state funding to coordinate statewide efforts associated with the heroin and opioid epidemic. However, Horry County received roughly $513,000 in direct funding, designated to one organization last year.
Georgetown did not receive any funding, the study revealed.
Renee Causey, a professor at Horry-Georgetown Technical College who performed the study between April and August last year, said that Horry was leading the state in heroin- and opioid-related deaths while the report was being conducted. Horry is currently second in the state to Charleston.
“The majority of individuals who are working in the field may not be able to do what they do effectively because they’re working beyond their scope,” Causey said. “Everyone involved with addressing the opioid epidemic has reported to me that they are extremely overwhelmed, they are inundated with individuals they are trying to help but they are still here doing it everyday for us.”
Causey, who presented her findings during the council’s workshop at the Convention Center Thursday morning, provided several recommendations that would address the growing epidemic, including an increase in public, peer and student education and recovery support. She also suggested the council address gaps in services, hire an outside coordinator to create an effective continuum of services with all entities, promote a change in how drug consumers are perceived, and increase state and local funding.
With Horry expected to receive an additional $60,000 this year, Causey recommended that Horry and Georgetown counties create a joint budget that will support the coordination and provision of current services involved with addressing the opioid crisis.
“We have individuals in our counties that are begging for help, and just unfortunately there’s no services that are there to sustain what they need,” Causey said. “The current structure is not effective, and a majority of programs never see any type of funding in sight because it’s just not available.”
Causey added that there has been roughly 15 reported overdoses since January.
“Everyone knows we have a problem,” said Horry Coroner Robert Edge. “Let’s start planning and stick with it.”
While Causey stressed the lack of adequate funding for several recovery programs and services throughout the county, health professionals and volunteers also expressed similar frustration, noting they don’t have the financial resources to help the growing number of people in need.
Recovering addicts Kristian Edwards and Dustin Walters agreed that without treatment, individuals won’t have the opportunity to change their lives.
“We need help,” Edwards said. “We have people out there willing to do it, we have people with the knowledge to do it, but we need help to continue this and save lives.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2019 at 4:27 PM.
