Youth drug reduction program launches with $5 million in federal funds –

PHOTO: U.S. Sen. John Boozman announces $5 million in federal funding for the Arkansas Youth Drug Use Reduction Program, which will be led by the MidSouth organization at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Photographed on October 9, 2024. | Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Attorney

By MARY HENNIGAN | Arkansas attorney

Ellison Bryde was 17 when he died of fentanyl poisoning, his mother Kari Clay said Wednesday during an announcement about a $5 million grant for a new youth drug reduction program.

“She was trusting someone who she thought was a friend and she thought he had given her a Percocet,” Clay told a small group at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. “It was fentanyl. Pressed, stamped, counterfeit pills. … I had no history of drug use, no addiction. I was a little girl and I thought I was going to sleep a good night from a safe pharmacy.”

Clay said her daughter loved to sing, was a barrel racer and had just started a new job as a hostess at US Pizza in Bryant.

“People are dying at an alarming rate,” said Clay, who spoke as part of the Hope Movement Coalition. “Ellison was a bright girl just entering her senior year of high school. She shouldn’t be a memory.”

UA Little Rock’s MidSOUTH program will use federal funding to expand its training in schools to address prevention efforts related to drug and opioid use among the state’s youth, said Wednesday the co-director of the ‘organization, Greg Smith.

MidSOUTH is a training and education organization that equips people with tools to “empower oppressed and vulnerable populations and improve the entire community through continuing education” in child welfare, family support and addictions, according to its website .

More than 108,000 people in the United States died of a drug overdose in 2023, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same data shows that Arkansas had 572 drug overdose deaths in 2023, though the number could change as the data is finalized.

“Our state’s youth are incredibly vulnerable to abuse and overdose on opioids and other prescriptions, and sadly even illicit fentanyl, often unintentionally,” said U.S. Sen. John Boozman during the announcement “There has been a concerted year-long effort to fight the opioid crisis from all levels of government.”

The $5 million in federal funding was earmarked as part of a larger bill Boozman announced for Arkansas defense, health and education projects in March.

It’s not the only money Arkansas receives to fight addiction. Approximately $216 million of a $26 billion national opioid settlement will be received over 18 years. Funds are split between the state, counties and cities, although the Arkansas Association of Counties and the Arkansas Municipal League agreed to pool their funds and start the Opioid Recovery Association of ‘Arkansas (AORP).

Since it began accepting funding requests in November 2022, AORP has distributed more than $26 million to cities and counties to address opioid-related prevention, recovery and treatment needs, the director of the AORP, Kirk Lane.

“AORP’s mission is to build capacity and foster hope in areas that are typically underserved and underfunded, focusing on filling the gaps through collaborative partnerships,” Lane said.

Lane said national data shows that for every dollar spent on prevention efforts, it will save $11 later. He estimated that the $5 million in federal funding will result in $60 million in savings.

Smith said the funds will expand existing training for school resource officers, teachers, counselors and staff at higher education institutions. Both private and public institutions will be included in their efforts.

“This … represents not only a financial investment, but a commitment to save lives, educate our youth and support families affected by this crisis,” Smith said.

The organization’s work will begin in the coming weeks and will also focus on building a curriculum and network of community resources to extend beyond the end of the funding.

Tom Fisher, the state’s chief drug officer, spoke about the ongoing efforts of officials to combat the opioid crisis, from law enforcement to local coalitions.

“As a parent today, I truly believe we are living in one of the most dangerous times in history,” Fisher said. “… 20 years ago or less, the idea that with your phone and the touch of a button that a package could arrive at your door with pills or an illicit substance was just unimaginable.”

Fisher also pointed to Act 811 of 2023, which requires public high schools and state-supported institutions of higher education to bring rescue children who have overdosed on opioids. Naloxone, which comes in different forms but is commonly known by the brand name Narcan, is a life-saving drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

“I think these programs can share the value and the benefit and the potential to prevent these pitfalls in children’s lives, which can only enrich their lives and their opportunities,” Fisher said.

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