Delco Community College Gets Funding To Combat Opioid Abuse

MEDIA, PA — Gov. Tom Wolf's administration recently announced funding allocated to various colleges and universities in the state to combat the use of opioids by college students and to create naloxone training opportunities for post-secondary institutions.

Nearly $1 million in federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants was awarded to the schools, and Delaware County Community College is among the recipients.

The grants are part of the $55.9 million SAM SHA grant secured by the Wolf Administration to bolster the state’s response to the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic.

"We consistently attack the state’s opioid crisis from all angles, and this grant will enable additional focus on an integral part of our work – prevention," Wolf said. "Educating college students on the risk of opioid use and training institutions of higher learning on how to administer naloxone are two ways we can save lives and lessen the impact of this crisis."

The funding will be directed to 13 higher education institutions through grant agreements up to $100,000. Awardees will expand existing preventive programs and partner with key local stakeholders to develop and implement new projects. Projects may include raising campus awareness, reducing stigma, increasing access to overdose reversal trainings, and grief support.

"We have learned from the opioid crisis that substance use disorder does not discriminate and one of our hardest hit demographics are traditionally college-aged Pennsylvanians age 18 to 30," said DDAP Secretary Jen Smith. "The commonwealth’s unprecedented amount of federal funding has allowed us to take a comprehensive look at our prevention programs for secondary and post-secondary institutions and identify gaps in our system. This is the first of many steps the administration will be taking in strengthening prevention and awareness for adolescents in Pennsylvania."

The following higher learning institutions were awarded grant funding:

• Delaware County Community College — Delaware, Chester
• Duquesne University — Allegheny
• Immaculata University — Chester
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania Research Institute — Indiana
• Lackawanna College — Bradford, Northumberland, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna, Wayne
• Lehigh Carbon Community College — Carbon, Lehigh, Schuylkill
• Montgomery County Community College — Montgomery
• Muhlenberg College — Lehigh
• Penn State Berks — Berks
• Robert Morris University — Allegheny
• Shippensburg University — Cumberland, Franklin
• Temple University — Philadelphia
• West Chester University — Chester

During Wolf’s second term, DDAP will place a heavy focus on reducing stigma associated with substance use disorder, intensifying primary prevention efforts, strengthening treatment systems, and empowering sustained recovery.