Jackson County Commissioners recently approved funding for opioid recovery housing, which research shows may cut the relapse rate in half. 

At their Oct. 6 meeting, commissioners approved spending $165,000 from the county’s portion of North Carolina’s Opioid Settlement funds on two Oxford Houses, which are “peer-driven, democratically run, and self-supported group residences for individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder,” according to the Oxford House website. 

“This is an 18-year process,” said County Manager Kevin King. “We’re going to be getting the money each year and then each year we’ll come up with different priorities.”

These funds come from a national pool that states and municipalities across the country have amassed from entering into settlement agreements with opioid distributors, manufacturers, pharmacies, consultants, and advertisers.

In May, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced that North Carolina was expected to receive $150 million for treatment, prevention, and recovery from Perdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family — just one of dozens of organizations that have reached settlements that total $1.6 billion for North Carolinians and $55 billion nationwide.

The settlement also permanently barred the Sackler family from selling opioids in the United States.

“Purdue and the Sacklers built a business on getting people addicted to opioids. They knew what they were doing, and they did it anyway,” said Jeff Jackson in a news release. “This settlement bans them from ever selling opioids in this country again, and it puts $150 million into North Carolina for treatment and recovery. It’s the end of a long fight, and it’s the right outcome.”

In September, Jodie Rodewald and Meagan Cagle from the Opioid Settlement Committee updated commissioners on how the Opioid Settlement funds had been spent over the year, and said the county used funds to support recovery services, early intervention, and naloxone distribution.

From July 2025 through June 2026, the funds helped 75 individuals with opioid use disorder get connected to services, 32 students receive substance use prevention and intervention services, and distributed 1,400 naloxone kits throughout the county.

Looking forward to the next year, Rodewald and Cagle said they were considering a new strategy.

“We’re looking at recovery housing,” Rodewald said. “The need is not just housing because we know that there is a great need for housing in our county, but the need is for a safe, structured place for people who are trying to stabilize in recovery. Without that, people can leave treatment, they can leave jail or prison, they go right back into the same environment, and it makes long-term recovery harder, and it can lead to that cycle just continuing.”

Someone released from detox or jail is 129 times more likely to die of an overdose within the first 14 days of their release due to lowered tolerance and lack of community care, Rodewald added.

The solution? Rodewald and Cagle suggest partnering with Oxford House Inc., a nonprofit that started in 1975 that has over 3,500 houses across the world, and provides housing for more than 20,000 residents. Additionally, Oxford House research shows that house residents have a 31.3% relapse rate at 24 months compared to 64.8% for folks in traditional care.

According to Rodewald, the closest Oxford House is in Asheville, and the newly released funding will establish two in Jackson County, one for men and one for women.

The houses are designed to be self-sustained and democratically run, meaning members of the house split expenses (which average around $110 to $160 per person per week), and at least 80% of house members must accept any new housemates before they are allowed to move in.

The program also requires house members to be sober and have either secure employment or receive retirement or disability payments once they’ve established stability in the house.

The $165,000 will go toward the first-year expenses needed to establish the houses, and after that, they will be self-sustaining and require no further funding from the Opioid Settlement fund. Those include one full-time outreach worker dedicated to Jackson County; the Oxford Houses themselves; and referral partnerships with treatment providers, jails, courts, VA facilities, and shelters.

“I think it’s a great asset,” said Chairman Mark Letson after Rodewald and Cagles presentation at the Sept. 1 work session.

Commissioners John Smith and Todd Bryson shared they’ve both had family members who have struggled with addiction.

“These people need help big-time,” Bryson said. “And they’re good people.”

“But they also have to be willing to want to help their self,” commissioner Jenny Lynn Hooper said.

“Underneath, they’re good people,” Bryson responded. “And if we have a good system, set up for the sheriff’s office, offer them a future — that’s what we want, right?”

Bryson continued on to say that addiction can be a vicious cycle and offering a long-term strategy to help people stay on the right track is a “great start.”

At the Oct. 6 meeting, the resolution to spend the Opioid Settlement funds on recovery housing support passed unanimously.