The Substance Abuse Task Force (SATF) advocates for the improvement of services to victims of substance abuse by assessing the community's current level of response to victims, and identifying ways to enhance services and to promote prevention and a reduction in the rate of illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs by developing and encouraging inter-agency coordination and community educational programs.

Wilkes County Drug Deaths

Wilkes County Medical Examiners have documented 59 unintentional drug deaths for 2005 through 2007, mainly attributed to prescription drug misuse or abuse. This places Wilkes 5 times greater than national and 3 times the North Carolina State averages.

Community Coalition

• Northwest Community Care Network
• Parents and Youth of Wilkes
• Smoky Mtn. LME and New River
• Wilkes County Health Department
• Wilkes County Schools
• Wilkes County Sheriff's Department
• Wilkes Ministerial Association
• Wilkes Regional Medical Center

Others are also involved to combat this "epidemic" and better educate our community regarding proper narcotic prescription utilization, handling and disposal. The SATF is promoting the use of the North Carolina State Controlled Substance Reporting System for tracking narcotic prescription usage and assisting in organizing additional prevention and treatment programs in Wilkes.