North Dakota State University and South Dakota State University have been awarded a two-year, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant.
This is the second time the universities have received this grant.
With the first grant, the universities created a program called Strengthening the Heartland. The continuation of that effort with the new grant is called Strengthening the Heartland: Supporting Empathic Rural Opioid Response.
The goals for the new program are to:
- Increase access to research-based educational tools related to opioid/stimulant misuse for Extension professionals and health-care providers in rural North and South Dakota communities
- Increase knowledge and empathy-related to opioid/stimulant misuse among members of rural communities in the two states
Overall, we are striving to empower and equip citizens with the tools needed to address opioid misuse. It is our team’s hope that we can work together to promote rural prosperity and rural wellness across the Dakotas, says Meagan Scott Hoffman, a 4-H youth development specialist in NDSU Extension’s Center for 4-H Youth Development.
In two years, the program has reached a little over 2,000 youth in 30 locations in schools across North Dakota and nearly 2,000 youth in 20 schools in South Dakota through a multimedia presentation called “This Is Not About Drugs.”
Adults participated in a similar type program called the Opioid Health Crisis, reached 287 adults in seven locations across North Dakota and 460 adults in 28 communities in South Dakota.
For more information, ND and SD residents can visit https://www.sdstate.edu/strengthening-heartland for more information about the program.
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