Northwestern Receives Grants for Opioid, Stimulant Prevention

August 29, 2022

North entrance to Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Alva.

Northwestern Oklahoma State University was awarded two Higher Education Prevention Services (HEPS) grants, one for opioid prevention and the other for stimulant prevention, through the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Each grant received $50,000.

These grants will fund campus efforts to prevent opioid and stimulant misuse and provide referral services for those needing treatment. Northwestern will provide outreach, engagement and evidence-based opioid and stimulant prevention services. 

Taylor Wilson, L.P.C, director of counseling and career services, is developing a prevention campus coalition to create the best strategies to disseminate information regarding opioid and stimulant misuse. All Northwestern students, faculty and staff are invited to join the coalition.  

“Our goal is to reduce opioid and stimulant misuse as measured by the National College Health Assessment (NCHA),” Wilson said. “The grant will provide students, staff and faculty information on the safe disposal of medication, treatment options, naloxone, how to respond to an opioid overdose, and safe storage of medications.”

Funding for these grants was awarded for three years, and the grants are renewable each year contingent on performance and availability of funding of state and/or federal funding. 

For more information about the grants, or to join the coalition, contact Wilson at (580) 327-8547 or tawilson@nwosu.edu. 

                                                                                                -NW-