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39 <br /> 2. Project Narrative <br /> A. Assessment of Community Need (16 points, page limit: not to exceed 1 % pages) <br /> Geographic Area and Overdose Burden <br /> EI Futuro's proposed Orange County Latino Early Intervention & SBIRT Expansion Program will <br /> serve economically disadvantaged youth, young adults, and caregivers in Orange County, <br /> specializing in services for Spanish-speakers and those with high rates of ACEs. Drug and opioid <br /> overdoses remain a significant public health challenge across the state and nation. According to <br /> provisional North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) surveillance <br /> data, an estimated 3,025 suspected overdose deaths occurred statewide in 2024, reflecting <br /> ongoing drug-related mortality beyond 2023. Monthly overdose surveillance in early 2025 <br /> shows continued high counts of suspected overdose deaths — for example, 270 suspected <br /> overdose deaths reported in March 2025 — indicating that overdose burden persists as a <br /> pressing health issue. (NC DHHS Overdose Epidemic Data, 2025) <br /> While county-level overdose mortality counts are often suppressed due to small numbers, <br /> publicly available emergency department surveillance reports show ongoing overdose-related <br /> visits in Orange County, consistent with statewide trends. (NC DHHS Injury & Violence <br /> Prevention, 2025)These patterns demonstrate that overdose risk, particularly from opioids and <br /> synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, remains a critical public health priority in Orange County and <br /> across North Carolina,justifying the need for culturally responsive, early intervention strategies. <br /> These trends underscore the ongoing urgency for culturally responsive early intervention and <br /> prevention-focused programming. <br /> Need for This Work and Gaps in Services <br /> Data from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that behavioral <br /> health challenges remain widespread across the United States, with approximately 23.4% of <br /> adults experiencing any mental illness and 16.8% of people aged 12 or older meeting criteria for <br /> a substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year, underscoring ongoing community behavioral <br /> health needs. (NSDUH, 2024) Despite similar or higher rates of behavioral health symptoms, <br /> Hispanic/Latino adults are less likely to receive treatment than the overall U.S. population; in <br /> 2024, Hispanic/Latino individuals accessed mental health care at rates about 28% lower than <br /> the national average, highlighting persistent disparities in service utilization. (SAMHSA <br /> NSDUH/Office of Minority Health, 2025) <br /> At the state level, North Carolina health surveillance data indicate that Latino and Hispanic <br /> residents continue to experience barriers to accessing services due to insurance coverage gaps <br /> and structural inequities. According to the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System <br /> (BRFSS), approximately 49.1% of Hispanic residents under age 65 lacked health insurance, <br /> significantly higher than the non-Hispanic white population, which limits access to early <br /> intervention, screening, and follow-up care for both substance use and co-occurring mental <br /> health concerns. (NC DHHS BRFSS, 2025) <br /> 2 <br />