Rural Communities Opioid Response Program
Franklin County has one of the highest rates of opioid overdose death per population in the state of Missouri. Our agency was identified as a key consortium member charged with developing an effective plan to address this crisis. With leadership from the PreventEd, the consortium received funding provided by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to determine where gaps in resources exist in rural areas of Franklin County.
Stigma is often a barrier to those experiencing a substance use disorder. One of the goals of this project is to engage with the community, assess the current perceptions held about opioid use and individuals with opioid use disorder, and help reduce the stigma associated with this disease. The consortium will perform regular assessments by way of community surveys to help gauge the effectiveness of our efforts.
You can review a brief summary of the Wave 1 survey results here, and a more detailed report analyzing the results of Wave 1 of the survey here.
Wave 2 of the community survey was completed in Fall 2021. A summary report of Wave 2 results can be found here, and the complete report following Wave 2 can be accessed here.
The third and final wave of the survey was completed in Fall 2022. Click here to review the summary report of the Wave 3 results. To review the detailed report, including analytics regarding the respondents and their perceptions related to opioid use and opioid use disorder, please contact Emily Wilkerson, Community Strategist with PreventEd at ewilkerson@PreventEd.org or call 636.239.7652.
The findings of these Opioid Perceptions Surveys highlight the importance of this grant and its work to support the needs of those working to help people struggling with an opioid use disorder. There is much work to be continued and we are grateful to the participants of these surveys for their time and their honest responses to guide the work.
Many thanks to the team at the Center for Public Health Systems Science at the Brown School for partnering with PreventEd on this project.
Accomplishments to Date
The program has resulted in the creation of a Certified Peer Specialist team, made up of people who have been successful in the recovery process. They help others experiencing similar situations by providing the understanding, respect, and mutual empowerment that is so critical to helping people stay engaged in recovery.
In addition, community connections have resulted in over 700 people receiving education and information through trainings and presentations, and over 150 boxes of the life-saving drug, Naloxone, have been distributed throughout the county.
To learn more about the CPS program in Franklin County, contact Terisha Friedmann, CPS Supervisor, at tfriedmann@prevented.org, or call 314-246-9788. To find out more about the HRSA RCORP grant and how you can support our efforts, contact PreventEd’s HRSA RCORP grant coordinator Emily Wilkerson at ewilkerson@prevented.org or call 636.239.7652.
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: The Community at Large
In July, 2022, the HOPE for Franklin County Coalition was one of 20 prevention coalitions chosen to participate in a nationwide program focused on educating community members about medications that are effective in treating people with substance use disorder. This program, sponsored by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), encourages coalitions to educate residents about substance use disorder, reduce stigma related to people who use drugs, and emphasize the importance of understanding how medications can vastly improve outcomes for those in treatment. The first step in this process was the implementation of a community needs assessment, which resulted in 110 responses from Franklin County residents representing a wide variety of sectors. The full results of the assessment, along with a brief summary report, can be found here. To learn more about this initiative and about how you can support our efforts, contact Julie Hook, Program Director, at HOPECoalitionFC@gmail.com or call 636.239.7652.
