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75 <br /> Orange County <br /> JUSTICE <br /> UNITED <br /> Orange County Justice United <br /> PO Box 9484 <br /> Chapel Hill, NC 27515 <br /> February 20, 2025 <br /> Tonya Stancil, Harm Reduction Coordinator <br /> Orange County Government <br /> tstancil@orangecountync.gov <br /> RE: Letter of Support for El Futuro's Orange County Latino Early Intervention Program <br /> Dear Ms. Stanch, <br /> On behalf of Orange County Justice United, I am honored to provide this letter of support for El <br /> Futuro's proposalforthe Orange County Opioid Settlement Funds. Orange County Justice United is <br /> a coalition of 22 congregations and nonprofits working to ensure Orange County residents can <br /> thrive. Improving behavioral health is consistently a top priority for our membership,which <br /> includes over 3,000 Latino households. Our partnership with El Futuro has been essentialfor <br /> making real change for these members.We see firsthand the critical role El Futuro plays in <br /> ensuring that Latino individuals and families receive culturally and linguistically appropriate <br /> substance use and mental health services. <br /> We believe that El Futuro's Orange County Latino Early Intervention Program is uniquely positioned <br /> to meet the needs of historically marginalized Latino residents by integrating early intervention <br /> strategies, such as Screening, Brief Intervention,and Referral to Treatment(SBIRT), into their <br /> existing mental health services.This initiative directly aligns with Orange County's priorities for <br /> opioid response, expanding access to early intervention,treatment referrals, and recovery support <br /> for individuals at risk of opioid use disorder(OUD)and co-occurring mental health conditions. <br /> Orange County Justice United has a long-standing collaborative relationship with El Futuro, <br /> working together to improve behavioral health outcomes for Latino communities. Over 100 Latino <br /> community members in our organization worked together with El Futuro to create a vision and <br /> strategy for expanding behavioral health services in Orange County. One of the primary results,the <br /> "Strong Minds-Mentes Fuertes" community health worker program, has been a stunning success <br /> and already measurably improved the mental health of over 200 residents.Through this <br /> partnership,we have witnessed El Futuro's commitment to providing high-quality, culturally <br /> competent care to Latino families facing significant barriers to treatment, including language <br /> access, stigma, and lack of healthcare coverage. <br /> Our organization is eager to support El Futuro's proposed project by connecting the Latino <br /> community leaders in our organization to promote this work within their networks, and by <br /> continuing to ensure full financial support for the community health worker program.We firmly <br /> believe that this initiative will enhance the county's capacity to respond effectively to the opioid <br /> crisis by engaging trusted community health workers to work with Latino individuals affected by <br /> substance use. <br />