At a time when opioid overdoses were increasing quickly across the nation in 2016, the crisis claimed the life of 19-year-old Creighton Shipman in Mount Pleasant. His mother, Nanci Shipman, founded WakeUp Carolina, a nonprofit dedicated to providing peer-based recovery support services. Aiming to maximize its impact, the group partnered with the Mount Pleasant Police Department to combat opioid misuse and save lives. 

The innovative partnership includes peer support initiatives, community naloxone training and awareness events, comprehensive education for first responders, and now a Critical Information Management System, or CIMS, to provide real-time support for opioid-related incidents and increase follow-ups on overdose cases. The assistance kits left with the families of those who have suffered overdoses, which contain fentanyl testing strips and naloxone, are known to have saved at least one life. After studying community trends and adjusting strategies using the CIMS program, Mount Pleasant police saw a 40% decrease in opioid overdoses within one year. Information shared between the partners allowed WakeUp Carolina to make 241 peer-support contacts. Mount Pleasant Town Council directed its allocations from the SC Opioid Recovery Fund to the effort.  

The project also helps fulfill elements from the police department’s strategic plan, which targets community mental health needs — an issue frequently connected to drug misuse — and partnering with the private sector. In 2024, the partnership is extending its focus to tourism locations, since visitors and nonresidents make up the majority of Mount Pleasant’s overdoes cases, and expanding into neighboring counties as well.  

Contact Eric LaFontaine at elafontaine@tompsc.com or 843.901.1649.