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The Dare County Mobile Recovery Support Unit is officially operational following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 15, 2024. The unit, made possible through a partnership between the Department of Health & Human Services (DCDHHS) and the Saving Lives Task Force, will greatly expand the reach of the department’s Recovery and Overdose Support Services (ROSS) team in their harm reduction efforts, noted a Dare County news release.

“This is the first of a kind mobile recovery unit in Dare County,” said Dare County commissioner and Saving Lives Task Force Co-Chair Wally Overman during the ceremony. “This unit can go anywhere in Dare County to provide services and we are excited about its potential.”

Roxana Ballinger, DCDHHS health education and outreach manager and Saving Lives Task Force co-chair, echoed Overman’s comments, noting that the mobile unit will allow ROSS to meet the needs of many more people in Dare County.

During the ceremony, Ballinger recognized Overman for his invaluable contributions to the Task Force and presented him with a plaque dedicating the unit to Overman, which will be mounted inside the unit. Ballinger also thanked ROSS peer support specialists Jesse Ruby and Katy Haslar for their perseverance and vision in making the unit a reality. “They both have been crucial to all of this and it wouldn’t have happened without them,” she said.

The Mobile Recovery Support Unit will be staffed by Ruby and Haslar and will provide syringe services, harm reduction tools, naloxone, fentanyl testing kits, support services, education, treatment resources, and rapid HIV and hepatitis C testing. In addition to these harm reduction services, the unit will also provide personal care items and is partnering with the Beach Food Pantry to offer food for those in need.

With the mobile unit in operation, ROSS peer support specialists will now be able to reach more underserved populations and rural areas of the county, offering services to individuals regardless of their circumstances or transportation limitations.

“The Mobile Recovery Support Unit was made possible through the generosity of EasterSeals/ Port Health Services, which has agreed to lease/donate the vehicle to DCDHHS; as well as the Outer Banks Community Foundation, which awarded a $9,000 grant for the mobile unit’s wrap as well as supplies to stock the unit,” stated the release.

For more information on the Mobile Recovery Support Unit, contact Ballinger at 252-475-5619 or Roxana.Ballinger@darenc.gov.

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