NEO receives $50,000 grant to combat substance abuse

Miami, Oklahoma – Friday, April 16, 2021 – Earlier this semester, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) was awarded a $50,000 through the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education State Opioid Response Higher Education Community Outreach Grant.

First received in 2019, the grant is a continuing effort to address the U.S. Opioid Overdose Crisis. Funds help develop communication and outreach programming to train students, staff, and faculty in culturally responsive approaches to identifying and treating opioid abuse.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH), Oklahoma has made strides in recent years to combat opioid dependency and death, but providers still prescribed opioids for nearly 80 people per every 100 in 2018.

NEO grant officials have already put funds to use through several training sessions. Staff participated in sessions focusing on the prevalence of substance dependency in individuals with “adverse childhood experiences,” providing resources to students who may turn to substance-seeking coping mechanisms during the rapid transition to online and distance learning, and the implications of the pandemic on addiction/overdoses.

“The pandemic has limited our ability to host in-person trainings, but we’ve been able to conduct some impactful initiatives that prepare our staff and faculty to support students,” said Rachel Lloyd, Title III Grant Coordinator. “We’ve also been able to reach out to experts in motivation and healthy coping to engage our students.”

To learn more about the SOR grant, contact program coordinator Jacob Wallace at jacowa@neo.edu or by calling 918-540-6137.