URI gets $1M for rural opioid crisis outreach

URI WAS GRANTED $1 million from the federal government for its program to conduct outreach to rural Rhode Island communities regarding the opioid crisis. The program will be led by URI College of Pharmacy clinical associate professor Anita Jacobson, pictured above. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
URI WAS GRANTED $1 million from the federal government for its program to conduct outreach to rural Rhode Island communities regarding the opioid crisis. The program will be led by URI College of Pharmacy clinical associate professor Anita Jacobson, pictured above. / COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The University of Rhode Island has received a $1 million federal grant to fight the opioid crisis in rural Rhode Island communities, URI announced this week.

The funds come from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

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The funds will fuel a two-year project called “Community First Responders Program” that involves outreach to rural communities, as well as distribution and explanation of naloxone kits to fight overdoses. The program will also include the distribution of fentanyl test strips.

The program will be led by URI College of Pharmacy clinical associate professor Anita Jacobson.

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“This is an opportunity to reach rural communities, where there is not always as much outreach regarding overdose and addiction as in more urban areas. But there is overdose risk in these communities,” Jacobson said. “We want to be a referral source and help people find the treatment and recovery they need.”

As part of the program, URI faculty, staff members and volunteers will complete opioid misuse and substance use disorder training and hold public events to inform the public and destigmatize substance use disorder.

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