A Letter from APNC CEO Sara Howe, October 2026
By the most recent federal estimate, North Carolina is meeting about 11.5 percent of its residents’ substance use and mental health needs.
I read that number and I think about you. The other 88.5 percent doesn’t disappear. It shows up on your caseload, in your waiting room, and on your phone after hours. You are the reason that gap isn’t even wider.
I know the other 88.5 percent all too well. Today, a member of my family is facing mental health challenges. I had a parent who spent years with untreated alcoholism, and a grandparent who lived with problem gambling. I lost a high school classmate to an opioid overdose. And I’m grateful for several close friends and colleagues in recovery who remind me that brighter tomorrows are possible.
Sound familiar? Too many of us can name the family and friends we’ve lost, the ones we’re still trying to reach, and, hopefully, the ones who have found recovery. APNC exists for every one of them: those we remember, those we’re still reaching for, and those protecting their recovery every day. And we exist to support you as you build healthier communities and stronger families.
So as we close out the third quarter, I don’t want to send you another list of member benefits. I want to tell you what APNC is doing with the trust you’ve given us, and how you can lean on us more.
We take what you tell us to Raleigh.
APNC is the only professional membership organization in North Carolina that advocates exclusively for addiction professionals and the communities you serve. That word “exclusively” matters. Our legislative priorities don’t come from a boardroom. They come from you: the counselor who can’t find a client a bed, the prevention specialist watching funding shift, the director who lost two good staff this year. When you tell us what you’re seeing, we carry it to the General Assembly.=
You don’t have to wait for conference season to learn something new.
Our regional trainings are virtual, and members attend for free. As an approved NAADAC and NCHEC Education Provider, we make it easier to earn the CEUs you need year-round, on your schedule, without a hotel bill.
Your membership reaches well beyond North Carolina.
Through our affiliations with NAADAC and Open Minds, you’re connected to national continuing education, resources, and advocacy that shapes funding and policy long before it reaches our state.
From the mountains to the coast.
Our prevention team provides training and technical assistance to prevention sites in every corner of the state. And we show up for the recovery community at meetings and events statewide, because people in recovery deserve a seat wherever decisions about their lives are being made.
Call us. Really.
Our staff brings real experience in SUD counseling, public policy, coalition building, grant writing and management, communications, and more. If you’re stuck on something, whether it’s a policy question, a grant deadline, or a staffing headache, start with a call or an email to info@apnc.org. Chances are someone here has worked through it before.
You may have noticed that APNC has grown a lot over the past few years. That growth has been deliberate. We’ve been rethinking how our teams work together so that when something new hits the field, whether it’s a policy change, a funding shift, or a new drug in the supply, we can move quickly and speak with one voice. You’ll hear more about that soon.
What hasn’t changed is why we exist: to connect addiction professionals and communities to build a healthier North Carolina. That’s the job. Everything else is how we get it done.
So here’s my ask. Pick one thing this month. Sign up for a virtual training. Forward our newsletter to a colleague who isn’t a member yet. Or email us and tell us what’s keeping you up at night. We want to hear it. And if you joined us at our Fall Conference, drop us a line and let us know how we did.
Thank you for doing this work. It’s hard, it’s often invisible, and North Carolina is better because you do it. I’m proud to be in it with you.
Sara M. Howe, MBA, MS, CHES
CEO, Addiction Professionals of North Carolina
