About Our Kids, Inc. (AOK) of Lamar is proud to announce Project ROCK (Reducing Opioids for our Communities and Kids), a community-based program funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s federal office of Rural Health Policy (HRSA). HRSA granted AOK’s funding proposal for $200,000 as part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program for planning grants. In addition to AOK, nine area organizations are partnering to establish the ROCK Consortium, which will assess local needs and plan prevention, treatment and recovery activities for substance and opioid use disorders in Barton, Cedar and Dade counties.
Research collected by the ROCK Consortium verifies the local rise in opioid abuse. Of particular interest is the annual shipment of prescription painkillers to Missouri equivalent to a 10-day supply of opioids for every man, woman and child in the state, with higher occurrences in southwest Missouri. While AOK is the coordinating partner of the ROCK Consortium, other members include: Restored Hope Against Addictions (Lockwood), Alliance for Rural Care (Lamar), Lamar Police Department, Community Partnership for The Ozarks, Lamar Drug-Free Coalition, University of Missouri Extension – Barton County, City of Lamar Parks and Recreation Department, Lutheran Immanuel School (Lockwood) and the Lamar Democrat, as well as youth and parent representatives.
Through teamwork, ROCK will strengthen skills and knowledge to fight the conditions contributing to illegal drugs, opioids, addiction and destruction in our communities. AOK is a youth development organization that has served the Lamar area since 1999.
Story courtesy of The Lamar Democrat