Four Michigan counties at the front of the opioid drug crisis will be getting help from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.
It’s won a 1.4 million dollar federal grant for the “MY-PROUD” project. It focuses on preventing and treating overdoses and deaths among young people. Associate Western professor of social work Jennifer Harrison says it will send graduate students to help hospitals and schools:
"And then, ultimately, we're hoping to be able to impact and help be one of a number of services that helps bring down that opioid death rate. I mean, I think that's ultimately what a lot of these programs addressing opioids are really trying to do is just get ahead of the unacceptable rate of people dying related to opioid use disorders."
The “MY-PROUD” project will work in Calhoun, Van Buren, Muskegon, and Jackson counties. Harrison says they have the highest overdose and death rates involving fentanyl, heroin, and other opioid drugs.