Mobile unit launch expands access to opioid treatment

MCLEOD CENTERS FOR WELLBEING

McLeod Centers for Wellbeing is launching a mobile opioid unit in west Charlotte in collaboration with Hajee House Harm Reduction.

West Charlotte will soon have its first mobile opioid treatment unit.

McLeod Centers for Wellbeing is launching its initiative on Nov. 16 at Hajee House Harm Reduction, 2219 Dr Webber Ave.

“What’s important to us with our growth plan is really moving treatment to where our patients are,” McLeod Centers for Wellbeing CEO Christine Zazzaro said. “Historically, we’ve always had one location in Charlotte. People have had to come to us. A lot of our patients have a lot of socioeconomic issues that are contributing to their health concerns, transportation being a huge one. So, we have been planning a mobile unit for a long time because we know that that would be a huge win in this community, an urban community especially.”

The mobile unit will enable McLeod to bring opioid treatment directly to a community that has been hit hard by the overdose crisis. And it serves patients regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance.

“Addiction doesn’t discriminate; recovery shouldn’t either,” Zazzaro said. “By putting treatment on wheels and parking it near people who already trust Hajee House, we are meeting our neighbors where they are.”

Through grants from the nationwide opioid settlement and state funding, McLeod can treat clients for free. 

“We don’t ever want somebody to have to decide between: ‘Do I pay my utility bill or do I get my medicine?’ Zazzaro said. “That’s a fact that happens a lot. The other thing that we have as a fund for folks to help with rent or to help with utilities is that they’re at risk of getting cut off, for example, so that they never have to make that choice. 

“We’ve had a lot of different funding opportunities. People can donate to provide treatment costs for folks. We’re nonprofit, and that’s important to us and to our mission to just make sure that someone’s getting the care that they need first and foremost.”

In planning the mobile program, Zazzaro said it was important to have a partner like Hajee House, which started in 2018 when founder Terica Carter’s 18-year-old son died after a fentanyl overdose. Carter responded by building the first Black-led harm reduction organization in Mecklenburg County. 

“I lost my son because none of us knew,” she said. “Hajee House exists so no other family learns that lesson the way I did. Now, when someone tells us they’re ready for treatment, McLeod is right here and we can get them in.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a 14% decrease in opioid-related deaths in the United States from 2024-25. However, data shows that since 2019 deaths among residents of color in Mecklenburg County has risen approximately 200%. Zazzaro said people should not be vilified for getting help.

“A lot of that decrease is attributed to having naloxone in the community,” Zazzaro said. “We give every patient that comes up to us Narcan to take home. We also have an opportunity for people to access it from the community if they want to come in and get it from us. We’re happy to give it out and there’s a lot of organizations across Charlotte that are doing that. … There’s a stigma in the community that you’re trading one drug for another, and that is not the case. 

“We don’t treat any other disease like that. Diabetes, we don’t vilify people with diabetes because they have to take insulin every day. GLP-1s, we don't vilify people for taking medications to make them healthier, and that’s exactly what methadone and buprenorphine do for folks.”

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