How SouthLight Healthcare Uses Housing, Food and Transportation Support to Improve Recovery Outcomes
NC Health News recently highlighted how SouthLight Healthcare is leveraging opioid settlement funding to address social determinants of health (SDOH)—helping people access housing, transportation, food assistance, employment resources and other critical supports that make long-term recovery possible.
Key Highlights
- In 2025, SouthLight launched a dedicated Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Team to connect clients with essential nonmedical resources that help them stay engaged in treatment and recovery.
- Services include support with housing stability, transportation access, food security, employment resources, community connections, and more.
- The team operates from SouthLight’s Raleigh Hub Drop-In Center, where clients can access snacks, coffee, peer support services, computer and phone charging stations, resume-building tools and job-search assistance.
“If they feel insecure about their social needs, if they don’t know what they’re going to eat, they don’t know where they’re going to sleep, they’re worried about their job, their rent, things like that, then they’re not going to be able to focus on recovery,”
—Adam Hartzell, CEO of SouthLight Healthcare.
The two-person SDOH team, Tristan Wever and Ian Hope, helps remove barriers that often prevent individuals from fully engaging in substance use and mental health treatment. Their work is creating stronger pathways to care while helping clients build stability in their daily lives.
“The folks that we serve are on a long journey, and they are facing so many barriers to being able to make themselves well,” Hartzell said. “SouthLight being able to reduce those barriers and increase access to care has significantly increased the number of folks that we see accessing services coming to us and also how long they’re able to stay with us.”
Read the Full NC Health News Article
Discover how SouthLight Healthcare’s innovative approach to addressing social determinants of health, opioid recovery support, housing assistance and access to care is helping more North Carolinians stay in treatment and achieve lasting recovery.
