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Kelly Crosbie, MSW, LCSW
Director, DMH/DD/SUS
| | Hot Topics | July 24, 2025 | | |
DMHDDSUS Director Kelly Crosbie joined North Carolina First Lady Anna Stein and DHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai Monday at the launch of the Unshame NC public awareness campaign to reduce stigma and promote greater access to evidenced-based care for people who misuse substances. The launch was announced at the Wake County Drug Overdose Prevention Coalition meeting, and featured compelling stories from people with lived experience in recovery.
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Recent data from a statewide survey indicates 57% of North Carolinians know someone with opioid use disorder. Despite this widespread issue, only 34% of North Carolina residents know how to find quality treatment for themselves or their loved ones. The Unshame NC campaign aims to increase knowledge and awareness of substance misuse and promote medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) as a treatment option, a major priority in the DMHDDSUS Strategic Plan.
| If you or someone you know is in crisis, NCDHHS provides somewhere to go, someone to talk to and someone to respond. You can find the help that is right for you 24/7 on the NCDHHS Crisis Services website. | | |
Order Free Crisis Services Print Materials For Your
Back-to-School Outreach Today
| | The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is providing free, printed Crisis Services for schools, local governments and community organizations for Back-to-School outreach. Sign up today for these new bilingual totes, magnets, water bottles, flyers, wallet cards and rack cards. Order materials by August 4 to receive them by mid-August to share with your community. | | Reduction in Tobacco Sales to Youth | | |
Early data for fiscal year 2025 show significant reductions in the percentage of tobacco retailers who violate the law by selling tobacco products to those under 18 years of age. The reduction is the result of a collaborative prevention effort led by DMH/DD/SUS, the Division of Public Health, and the Alcohol Law Enforcement agency.
This prevention work involves visiting retailers to ensure that local tobacco clerks understand the North Carolina law and that customers under age 30 are asked to show their IDs. Retailers are also offered the opportunity to complete free online tobacco retailer education in partnership with Alcohol Law Enforcement and community prevention providers. During fiscal year 2025, prevention efforts included visits to 7,763 merchants in 71 counties.
The DMHDDSUS five-year strategic plan prioritizes preventing substance misuse and overdose, with one strategy being delaying initial substance exposure or use and deterring access to substances that can be misused. This includes retail tobacco monitoring to ensure retailers do not inadvertently contribute to substance misuse as well as other initiatives to deter children and adolescents from substance misuse.
| | National Hire a Veteran Day is July 25 | | |
For veterans, employment needs go hand-in-hand with mental health needs, housing, and benefits issues. That’s why we recognize July 25 as National Hire a Veteran Day. DMH/DD/SUS produces the NC4Vets Journal in partnership with the Governor's Institute and the Triangle Business Journal (TBJ) to provide resources that support the transition to civilian life and workplace integration for Service Members, Veterans, and Families (SMVF), as well as colleagues and employers. Stories of looking for work are common. North Carolina veterans age 18–34 are unemployed at a rate of 5.7%. To learn more, read the stories or visit the US Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Service website.
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The National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDS) has released a toolkit to help improve support for individuals with I/DD who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.
This toolkit is aimed at providing states with information and training materials to ensure state staff, support coordinators, and direct support professionals understand how Medicare and Medicaid programs can be complementary. It is also intended to provide guidance for individuals and families to navigate dual eligibility enrollment and ongoing benefits management.
| | | Learn More About What's Happening in Your Community | | | |
The Impact of Culturally Relevant Conversations
on Minority Mental Health
| | i2i Winter Conference – Call for Presentations | | |
The i2i Center for Integrative Health is now accepting proposals for its Winter Conference, scheduled for January 13-15, 2026 in Winston-Salem. Presenters will have the opportunity to share innovative ideas on whole person care, value-based care, and technology in Medicaid managed and integrated care with more than 800 participants.
Deadline to Submit Proposal: Wednesday, July 30, 2025
More Information: Call for Presentations
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State of NC Mental Health Town Hall Meeting
DMH/DD/SUS Director Kelly Crosbie Featured Speaker
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Join NCDHHS and NAMI NC for an impactful town hall meeting featuring DMH/DD/SUS Director Kelly Crosbie and other key government and medical officials. Hear about upcoming legislation affecting mental health, mental health priorities in state policy, and future planning for programs including re-entry and school mental health.
Date/Time: Thursday, July 31, 2025, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Registration: Register for the meeting
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Mental Health Block Grant
Planning and Advisory Council Meeting
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UCA WAVES Youth Mental Health Collaborative
Call for Poster Presentations
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The UCA WAVES Youth Mental Health Collaborative invites youth, students, educators, researchers, and community leaders to submit abstracts for poster presentations at the 2025 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Youth Mental Health Conference. Submissions may include scientific research, art-based work, or community projects that explore, understand, and improve mental well-being for AAPI youth and their families.
The conference will be held at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh on September 27, 2025 and will feature DMH/DD/SUS Director Kelly Crosbie as the Keynote Speaker. The conference will also premiere the film, Silent War: Asian American Reckoning with Mental Health, a powerful documentary exploring the mental health crisis facing Asian Americans and the stories too often left untold.
Submission Deadline: Friday, August 1, 2025
Notification of Acceptance: Friday, August 15, 2025
Submit a Poster Presentation: Complete Form
More Information: Email UCA Waves
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Side by Side with DMH/DD/SUS
Reducing Stigma and Increasing Treatment
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Join us to learn about policies and programs that affect the MH/IDD/SU/TBI community. Side by side, we will work together to better understand and improve our system. We will listen closely to one another, and we will share ideas for public policy that will improve lives in NC. This month's focus is on preventing substance misuse and overdose.
Date/Time: Monday, August 4, 2025, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Registration: Register for the webinar
English Flyer: Download flyer
Spanish Flyer: Download flyer
Closed-Captioning & American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters will be provided.
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