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$25k Grant Targets Drug Abuse
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n943/a03.html
Newshawk: chip
Pubdate: Thu, 01 Jul 2004
Source: Sun Herald (MS)
Copyright: 2004, The Sun Herald
Contact: letters@sunherald.com
Website: http://www.sunherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/432
Author: Robin Fitzgerald, The Sun Herald
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm
(Oxycontin/Oxycodone)
$25K GRANT TARGETS DRUG ABUSE
Oxycontin Maker Gives L.B. Task Force Money For New Effort
LONG BEACH - A $25,000 grant to the Long Beach Substance Abuse Task
Force creates a safety net for Harrison County's children, officials at
a news conference said Wednesday.
The grant from Purdue Pharma, a drug manufacturing company, will pay to
launch Communities That Care, a research-based community development
program that aims to reduce problem behaviors, including substance
abuse, among children.
Harrison County is one of only 10 communities nationwide selected for
the grant. The news was announced at the USM-Gulf Park campus.
The Task Force also has received $14,000 from the Partnership for a
Healthy Mississippi for its countywide efforts.
"This process will give us a look at our problems, evaluate our
resources and identify where the gaps exist," said Fred Walker,
Task Force chairman, credited with spearheading the efforts.
Walker said he and several other Long Beach residents decided to seek
solutions after several friends buried their children following drug
overdoses. Long Beach last year had the highest per capita death
rate from drug overdoses in the county. Five of the 37
drug-related deaths were in Long Beach.
Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has offered $5,000 to pay for a
public forum on prescription drug abuse.
"If we can save the life on one child, it is well worth the
effort," said George Schloegel, CEO of Hancock Bank and a founder
of Coast 21, a business group that seeks to guide public policy.
CTC has been implemented in more than 500 communities. The
one-year program provides training and consultation in data collection
and development of community action plans.
"We have seen the results," said Clay Yeager, Purdue Pharma
director of community partnerships. "It is important that we
know what substances kids are abusing, but it is even more important
that we understand why they are abusing them."
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has given a grant to a Long Beach group
that will use the money to expand their efforts.
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By the numbers
The Harrison County Coroner's Office reports the following on
drug-related deaths:
. 2004: 13 from January through June.
. 2003: 37.
. 2002: 46.
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