If matched with $1 million to be raised by UNC, the grant will help buy a new building in Carrboro to serve more women in North Carolina each year who battle substance abuse
(Chapel Hill, N.C.—Oct. 6, 2014) – UNC Horizons Program, a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program for pregnant and parenting women based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has received a $1 million challenge grant that would enable the program to serve more women from North Carolina each year.
The pledge of support comes from Oak Foundation, which will provide a $1 million grant contingent on UNC raising a matching $1 million in private donations by May 2015. The total would go toward the purchase of a new building in Carrboro.
Oak Foundation funds efforts that address social and environmental concerns, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. Oak has its main administrative office in Geneva, Switzerland, and a presence in the United States and seven other countries: Belize, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ethiopia, India, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.
“The generous donation from Oak Foundation provides funds that are transformational for UNC Horizons,” said Dr. Hendree Jones, executive director of Horizons. “Securing a permanent space for our program will allow us to expand our capacity to help heal the lives of more of North Carolina’s women and children affected by drug addiction.”
Based in the UNC School of Medicine’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, Horizons was established in 1993 and since has helped almost 5,000 North Carolina women coping with substance-use disorders, including many scarred by abuse and violence. But need outstrips capacity, resulting in about one of every four women seeking help being referred to other programs.
That’s why Horizons Program aims to purchase a facility to increase both capacity and programming. Plans call for a 12,000-square-foot space in Shelton Station, an approved mixed-use project in downtown Carrboro, scheduled for completion in 2015.
“We would be able to double the number of women and families served each year and triple our ability to provide on-site daycare,” Jones said.
A new building also would enable the program to provide on-site interactive training to local, national and international clinicians who are eager to learn about implementing the Horizons Program model, she said.
A $3 million investment is required to realize the vision for a new facility. Meeting Oak Foundation’s challenge would cover a significant portion of that need.
“We are proud to support UNC Horizons and believe that the new permanent home will enable it to provide a therapeutic and nurturing environment and continue its work, which is life-changing, not only for women, but also for their children,” said Millie Brobston, a program officer with Oak Foundation.
For information about making a donation to help meet the challenge, contact Tonya Taylor at (919) 962-9589 or taylortr@live.unc.edu.