Erick Lauber,
professor of Journalism and Public Relations at IUP, has received a $118,000
grant to streamline his project “Intensive Prevention Programming for Two
Hard-Hit Counties in Rural PA.” The project is one of many activities conducted
by Lauber’s Opioid Prevention and Community Health (OPACH) initiative, part of
the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Research and Training Institute (MARTI)’s larger Heroin Research and Outreach
Program.
The proposed program,
which focuses on residents in Armstrong and Indiana counties, is targeted
toward three distinct groups: caregivers of youth, working parents and
employers, and the general public. The first two groups will be offered
specialized workshops to better help them identify the signs and symptoms of
substance use disorders.
During the training sessions, information will also be
gathered regarding the attitudes and beliefs toward substance misuse. For the
general public, various forms of media will be utilized to spread information
about substance use, particularly opioid abuse.
Once the various phases of the project have been completed, the gathered
information will be used to develop a stigma-reduction campaign that will be
integrated into the larger prevention campaign. The project is funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
Delinquency.