SALISBURY — After receiving a grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the Rowan County Public Health Department will unveil PORT — Post Overdose Response Team — in an effort to support active drug users and those in recovery.

The Health Department was awarded a $285,326 grant sponsored by Blue Cross insurance to implement the program as part of ongoing efforts to address substance use disorder and the opioid epidemic in North Carolina.

The grant is for a two-year period beginning this year.

The Health Department, in partnership with Rowan County Emergency Medical Services and the Center for Prevention Services, established a team that will intervene directly in affected communities to provide outreach and support.

The team also will provide peer counseling, group therapy and other support services.

Public Health Director Nina Oliver has said this strategy has been successful in other communities and will help decrease the number of deaths and repeat overdoses from opioid misuse.

“This grant will enable us to do more ‘boots on the ground’ work in addition to all the other items we have been working on through the Substance Abuse Task Force,” Oliver said.

The Substance Abuse Task Force, formerly the Opioid Task Force, is made up of community agencies that have been working to decrease misuse of opioid and other substance in the community. The task force has held three forums since 2017 to educate community leaders and the public.

A news conference for stakeholders, treatment facilities and community leaders is scheduled at 10 a.m. Aug. 29 at the Rowan County Public Health Department, 1811 E. Innes St., to discuss the grant and the Post Overdose Response Team.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.