About Us
The North Carolina Technical Assistance Center (NC-TAC) is a statewide initiative to provide technical assistance to programs that support individuals at risk of incarceration and overdose. We provide tailored, evidence-based, technical assistance with a harm reduction approach. Our goal is to improve access to resources for people who use drugs and are impacted by the legal system, in North Carolina. Our services are available to any North Carolina non-profit, private, or government entity that provides services to people impacted by the legal system.
Supported by the DHHS Division of Mental Health (DMH), NC-TAC is a collaboration between the NC FIT Program, the NC Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC), and the Duke Harm Reduction Research Collaboratory. Combined, our team has decades of experience and includes harm reductionists, community health workers, physicians, researchers, and former law enforcement officers. Most importantly, our team includes people with lived experience with incarceration and substance use.
Each of our three organizations has expertise in key areas to help programs successfully implement and evaluate their projects. The NC FIT Program has worked extensively connecting people to essential health services after release from incarceration and working to implement jail-based Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) programs. NCHRC works on connecting people who use drugs to services and is a content and implementation expert in Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, naloxone distribution, and syringe services programs. The Duke Harm Reduction Research Collaboratory adds expertise in program planning, management, evaluation, and quality improvement.