Councilmember Joyner Appointed to Joint Opioid Settlement Committee
Published on February 13, 2026
The City of Wilmington and New Hanover County work jointly through the Opioid Settlement Committee to determine the best use of national opioid settlement funds distributed locally. Over an 18-year period, New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington are expected to receive approximately $36 million from multiple settlement agreements. The committee was organized to oversee how the funds are invested locally to address the ongoing impacts of the opioid crisis.
The City has been allocated one representative on the committee, and Mayor Bill Saffo announced recently he has appointed Councilmember David Joyner to serve.
“I’m grateful to Mayor Saffo for this committee assignment, not only to use my professional experience with substance use disorder treatment to inform the funds’ use in our region, but to be someone who can go out into the community and be a champion for the good work these organizations are doing,” Councilmember Joyner said. “I get to see people turn their lives around, and I get to know the providers who are literally saving lives. That success story needs to be shared in Wilmington.”
Professionally, Councilmember Joyner works as an Assistant District Attorney in the 6th Prosecutorial District of N.C., which has jurisdiction over New Hanover and Pender counties.
In 2022, Councilmember Joyner served as the prosecutor overseeing the founding of the Veterans Treatment Court, which served justice-involved veterans who took accountability for their offenses. The program enrolled them in treatment and deferred their jail time where appropriate. It also assists with housing, education, job training, and identifying when a Veteran’s benefits have lapsed.
“The settlement funds come with a requirement that they must be spent on prevention and treatment, not on policing of users,” Councilmember Joyner said. “There’s a saying in the recovery community that using leads to jails, institutions, and death. Working in the courts through referrals, I’ve seen the first-rate resources our community has, but I’ve also seen the gaps, which could have stopped someone from relapsing and spiraling.”
Funding priorities from the Opioid Settlement Committee focus on evidence-based programs that provide substance use disorder treatment, recovery support, education and outreach, expanded access to care, and services that promote overall community well-being.
Approved uses of opioid settlement funds include:
- Treatment and recovery services for substance use disorders
- Wraparound services for individuals and families
- Education, prevention, and community outreach
- Improved access to treatment and harm-reduction services
- Public health and public safety initiatives
Organizations receiving funding during the current fiscal year include Coastal Horizons, Coastal Horizons/OpiAID, Eckel + Vaughn, Face the Music, The Healing Place, LINC, MedNorth, New Hanover County Health and Human Services, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Novant Health, and Tides Inc.