The federal government is providing a-million dollars to fight the opioid epidemic in northern Michigan.
The federal grant funding comes on the heels of a 2018 CDC report that found eleven Michigan counties at risk for serious health complications related to opioids. The counties, all in the northern part of the state, were found most vulnerable to injection-related diseases.
Jill Oesterle is the Rural Health Clinics Manager with the Michigan Center for Rural Health, which is distributing the grant funding. She said the funding will help combat opioid abuse in sixteen northern Michigan counties.
“We have three individuals that will be working boots-on-the-ground: a physician, a project director, and a project associate. And we also have some core activities that we’ll be focusing on throughout the counties in northern Michigan to be able to bring things like building recovery capital, Naloxone distribution and expansion of access. Stigma reduction activities.”
Oesterle said one of the most helpful parts of the grant project and its goals has been working with those who’ve struggled with opioid addiction.