Rural Health and Safety Education Grant (opioid prevention in rural communities)

The aim of this project is to address opioid misuse in four rural Georgia communities through a multi-pronged strategy: (1) building family strengths and youth resiliency, in order to equip youth and families with skills to resist opioid misuse; (2) preparing Extension professionals, medical providers, and social service professionals to identify individuals dealing with opioid-related mental health crises, and to refer these individuals to appropriate specialty treatment; and (3) increasing community awareness of the risks of opioid misuse and ways to reduce those risks in the local community.Program ObjectivesTo create a report of community stakeholder needs related to opioid misuse, as well as a list of local and nearby resources for prevention and treatment of opioid misuse, for each of the four rural Georgia counties.To prepare Extension and other community professionals working with youth to respond to youth experiencing an opioid-related mental health crisis, including referring the youth to appropriate treatment resources.To increase the capacity of health and social service professionals to address risky substance use and substance use disorder issues in youth and adults through screening, brief intervention, and referral to appropriate treatment resources.To equip youth with life skills in order to resist opioid misuse.To prepare parents/guardians to support youth in resisting opioid misuse through building family strengths, encouraging positive two-way communication, providing structured opportunities for youth and adult family members to work together, and teaching effective discipline strategies for adolescents.To increase community awareness of opioid misuse and effective community-based strategies to reduce the risk of such misuse.