Elvis Menayese

A yellow school bus is probably a familiar sight on your morning commute. In Charlotte, a local artist has turned one bus into a mobile art studio and uses it to bring art to kids in the city’s mostly low-income communities. For 60-year-old Bunny Gregory, art was once a way to escape child abuse. Now, she aims to support other children and families in the same situation.

12th Step Services is a Charlotte group that’s been helping people overcome addiction for over 70 years. The group is now undergoing a revamp. The revamp is to the 12th Step Services' site that supports people impacted by substance use.

Volunteers donate their time in communities across our region, whether at a homeless shelter, a food bank, or an after-school program. Charlotte resident Connie Oliphant, 86, was one of those people. According to an American Red Cross Survey, just over half of Americans lack basic swimming skills, and over the past four years, the retired teacher worked to help change that. A few weeks before she unexpectedly died last weekend, Oliphant shared insight about her coaching methods that gives adults life-saving skills and confidence in the water.

Over the past six years, overdose deaths among Black and Hispanic residents have risen sharply. So has the number of trips to the emergency department because of overdoses. To tackle the crisis, the county has launched two new programs. In part three of WFAE’s series, we speak with doctors, drug users, and county staff about their plans with the nearly $75 million they expect to receive over the next 18 years to address the opioid crisis.

Overdose deaths continue to impact Mecklenburg County residents. Over the past six years, with the exception of last year, overdose deaths among Black and Hispanic residents have risen sharply each year. In part one of WFAE’s series, we explored how job loss and loss of loved ones turn some residents to drugs. In part two, we talk with researchers who test the drugs and with those who say they sold drugs to understand why.

Overdose deaths among Black and Hispanic residents have risen sharply in Mecklenburg County over the past six years. At the same time, overdose deaths among white residents have fluctuated. In part one of a three-part series, WFAE explores the crisis.

A planned protest at East Mecklenburg High School fizzled out on Monday after a principal warned family members that students could face disciplinary actions if they failed to follow CMS guidelines. The planned protest comes amidst Border Patrol arrests in Charlotte, and reported plans for more walkouts this week.

A ceremony was held in Rock Hill on Thursday night to recognize three African Americans who played a key role in integrating baseball in the South in the 1950s.

A ceremony occurred in Charlotte Wednesday that celebrated the transfer of land where newly freed slaves built a church and cemetery. The consecrated land has now returned to their descendants and others with ties to the church.

Mecklenburg County plans to host a forum on Wednesday to recruit volunteers for the upcoming annual Point-In-Time count that assesses the state of homelessness.