Mental health and substance use are major public health priorities in Western North Carolina, but accessing behavioral health care can be challenging because of provider shortages, workforce turnover, geographic disparities, fragmented services, and barriers to Medicaid participation. In this episode of the Western North Carolina Health Policy Initiative podcast, Nina Marie Collins draws on a decade of experience in public mental health, peer support, crisis services, and transitions to community living to explain how Western North Carolina’s behavioral health system works—and where it falls short.

On Friday, June 27th, 2026, WNC Health Network’s Meron Abebe (M.S., MBA, MPH), Director of Operations/Evaluation & Learning Advisor, along with Emily Kujawa (MPH, RD), Director of Partner Engagement, joined WNC HPI partners to share findings from the analysis. The researchers shared data across five major themes shaping youth mental health in the region—access to care, care coordination and navigation, prevention and early intervention, youth engagement and supportive spaces, and social determinants of health—and invited feedback from providers, policymakers and others regarding their experiences and insights.