OAYI Project Updates Archive
February – April 2021
- Seeking Safety
Seeking Safety begun implementation on March 17, 2021. The 10-session program is hosted at the Meramec Regional Planning Commission on every Wednesday at 6:00 and Friday at 2:00 PM until May 21. Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative project staff Rebecca Losing, Christa Harmon, and Mark Perkins facilitate the program. The program is currently working in partnership with the 25th Circuit Children’s Division and is taking referrals for participants who’ve experience trauma associated with opioid/substance misuse.
About the program – Seeking Safety is an evidence-based, present-focused counseling model to help people attain safety from trauma and/or substance abuse. It is an extremely safe model as it directly addresses both trauma and substance use disorder, but without requiring participants to delve into past traumatic memories, thus making it relevant to a very broad range of individuals and easy to implement. The Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative plans to implement this program as a coordinated response to improve outcomes for youth and families involved in the child welfare and juvenile systems as a result of the opioid crisis.
- Community Conversations on Stigma, Opioid Use, Misuse, and Recovery
The second Community Conversation was held in St. James, Phelps County, Missouri on March 2, 2021. Thirty-six individuals participated in a hybrid setting. Four youth/young adults led the narrative in front of law enforcement, educators, social service personnel, health care providers and researchers, and public office holders. The conversation lasted an hour and consisted of testimonies of familial opioid misuse experiences. The youth/young adults were able to articulate honest accounts of the impact opioid and substance misuse had on their upbringings and their present perceptions of the opioid crisis.
About the program – Social stigma against opioid use disorder discourages both parents and children from reaching out for help, and may enhance or reinstate drug misuse, playing a key part in the vicious cycle that drives people to continue misusing opioids. In partnership with Invent Yourself, LLC, the project is designed to openly facilitate a dialogue, led by youth with an adult, community-stakeholder audience, on the topic of opioid use disorder with the intent and purpose of “de-stigmatizing” the topic.
- Too Good for Drugs
Too Good for Drugs is facilitated by Prevention Consultants of Missouri and is currently implemented in the Potosi and Cuba middle schools with support from OAYI funding.
About the program – Too Good for Drugs is an evidence-based opioid, opiate, marijuana, underage drinking, tobacco, and other substance use prevention curriculum for students. The curriculum has been recognize as a model program by both the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In partnership with Prevention Consultants of Missouri, the curriculum will be taught in Meramec Region school districts, in junior high and high school age groups.
- Opioid and Substance Use Awareness Walks and events
MRPC’s Rural Opioid Initiatives, which consists of the Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative and the Meramec Region Rural Opioid Program, will host a series of Opioid and Substance Use Awareness Walks and events.
On March 5, the programs commemorated the region’s lives lost to the opioid epidemic. Two awareness tables were hosted at Peoples Bank, Cuba and Stonehenge, Missouri S &T, Rolla, and the project staff installed a temporary public memorial in front of the MRPC building facing I-44. The Phelps County Focus wrote an article about the event.
Starting in May, the programs with partnership from the Mid-MO Addiction Awareness Group, will host Awareness Walks in each of the eight counties. More information and schedules to come soon.
December 2020 – January 2021
Meramec Region’s Progress and Performance Measures Reports were submitted to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for the July 1 – December 31, 2020 reporting period.
Report Highlights:
- Community Conversations on Stigma, Opioid Use, Misuse, and Recovery
The Crawford County Community Conversation was held in Cuba, Missouri on December 16, 2020. Sixteen individuals participated, including four high school students. The high school students led the narrative in front of law enforcement stakeholders, which included Sheriff (Crawford County) Darin Layman, Chief (Cuba Police Department) Doug Shelton, and Deputy (Cuba Police Department) Robert Yates. The conversation lasted an hour and consisted of testimonies of lived opioid misuse experiences. The tone of the conversation was truthful, yet hopeful. The law enforcement stakeholders were able to share their perspectives on the use of naloxone (Narcan) and the first response to overdoses and individuals with opioid and substance use disorders.
About the program – Social stigma against opioid use disorder discourages both parents and children from reaching out for help, and may enhance or reinstate drug misuse, playing a key part in the vicious cycle that drives people to continue misusing opioids. In partnership with Invent Yourself, LLC, the project is designed to openly facilitate a dialogue, led by youth with an adult, community-stakeholder audience, on the topic of opioid use disorder with the intent and purpose of “de-stigmatizing” the topic.
- Too Good for Drugs
Too Good for Drugs is facilitated by Prevention Consultants of Missouri. The Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative funded the program in the Potosi 8th grade and Cuba 7th/8th grade classes during the Fall 2020 semester. An overall total of 204 students participated and increased their comprehension of the program curriculum with average “C” pretest scores to “A-“ posttest scores.
About the program – Too Good for Drugs is an evidence-based opioid, opiate, marijuana, underage drinking, tobacco, and other substance use prevention curriculum for students. The curriculum has been recognize as a model program by both the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In partnership with Prevention Consultants of Missouri, the curriculum will be taught in Meramec Region school districts, in junior high and high school age groups.
- Seeking Safety
Seeking Safety will begin implementation in the 25th Judicial Circuit and Children’s Division beginning February 2021.
About the program – Seeking Safety is an evidence-based, present-focused counseling model to help people attain safety from trauma and/or substance abuse. It is an extremely safe model as it directly addresses both trauma and substance use disorder, but without requiring participants to delve into past traumatic memories, thus making it relevant to a very broad range of individuals and easy to implement. The Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative plans to implement this program as a coordinated response to improve outcomes for youth and families involved in the child welfare and juvenile systems as a result of the opioid crisis.
- OAYI Social Media Videos, “Stories From Our Region – The Opioid Epidemic”
The videos highlight personal testimonies with first-hand and lived experiences of the opioid epidemic. The purpose of these videos is to increase opioid-misuse awareness, reduce stigma around those negatively impacted by the opioids, and share perspectives from responders to the opioid crisis. Content from these videos are intended to be shared on MRPC’s Facebook page and The Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative’s website.
November 2020
OJJDP – approved projects for implementation
- OAYI Social Media Videos, “Stories From Our Region – The Opioid Epidemic”
The videos highlight personal testimonies with first-hand and lived experiences of the opioid epidemic. The purpose of these videos is to increase opioid-misuse awareness, reduce stigma around those negatively impacted by the opioids, and share perspectives from responders to the opioid crisis. Content from these videos are intended to be shared on MRPC’s Facebook page and The Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative’s website.
- Community Conversations on Stigma, Opioid Use, Misuse, and Recovery
Social stigma against opioid use disorder discourages both parents and children from reaching out for help, and may enhance or reinstate drug misuse, playing a key part in the vicious cycle that drives people to continue misusing opioids. In partnership with Invent Yourself, LLC, the project is designed to openly facilitate a dialogue, led by youth with an adult, community-stakeholder audience, on the topic of opioid use disorder with the intent and purpose of “de-stigmatizing” the topic.
- Too Good for Drugs
Too Good for Drugs is an evidence-based opioid, opiate, marijuana, underage drinking, tobacco, and other substance use prevention curriculum for students. The curriculum has been recognize as a model program by both the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In partnership with Prevention Consultants of Missouri, the curriculum will be taught in five Meramec Region school districts, in junior high and high school age groups.
- Seeking Safety
Seeking Safety is an evidence-based, present-focused counseling model to help people attain safety from trauma and/or substance abuse. It is an extremely safe model as it directly addresses both trauma and addiction, but without requiring clients to delve into the detailed account of disturbing trauma memories, thus making it relevant to a very broad range of individuals and easy to implement. The Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative plans to implement this program as a coordinated response to improve outcomes for youth and families involved in the child welfare and juvenile systems as a result of the opioid crisis.
October 2020
OJJDP approved the Strategic Plan for the Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative. The strategic plan includes a detailed Action Plan for Implementation beginning page 11 of the .pdf link below the infographic.
OJJDP – approved projects for implementation
- OAYI Social Media Videos
The videos highlight personal testimonies with first-hand and lived experiences of the opioid epidemic. The purpose of these videos is to increase opioid-misuse awareness, reduce stigma around those negatively impacted by the opioids, and share perspectives from responders to the opioid crisis. Content from these videos are intended to be shared on MRPC’s Facebook page and The Meramec Region’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative’s website.
- Community Conversations on Stigma, Opioid Use, Misuse, and Recovery
Social stigma against opioid use disorder discourages both parents and children from reaching out for help, and may enhance or reinstate drug misuse, playing a key part in the vicious cycle that drives people to continue misusing opioids. In partnership with Invent Yourself, LLC, the project is designed to openly facilitate a dialogue, led by youth with an adult, community-stakeholder audience, on the topic of opioid use disorder with the intent and purpose of “de-stigmatizing” the topic.
- Too Good for Drugs
Too Good for Drugs is an evidence-based opioid, opiate, marijuana, underage drinking, tobacco, and other substance use prevention curriculum for students. The curriculum has been recognize as a model program by both the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In partnership with Prevention Consultants of Missouri, the curriculum will be taught in five Meramec Region school districts, in junior high and high school age groups.