Extension receives grant for education

The Ohio State University Lake County Extension has received a grant that will help youth leaders educate children about the dangers of prescription opioid misuse.

A mixture of adults and teens who run afterschool programs will be trained in the Health and Opiate-Abuse Prevention Education curriculum. They will then run programs that will educate between 500 and 1,000 Lake County children.

Extension educator Sandra Allison said members of the YMCA, Salvation Army,

Willoughby-Eastlake School teachers, 4-H youth and possibly Lake Metroparks will learn the HOPE curriculum. The grant comes from Cardinal Health’s Opioid Action Program.

According to a news release, the grants are designed to expand medication safety education for thousands of students in K-12 schools and universities, using “Generation Rx” educational materials.

Over the next year, the recipient organizations will talk with students and parents in interactive prevention education sessions. They will also meet regularly with each other in a

learning collaborative to share their progress, lessons learned and best practices. Prevention education experts will lead the collaborative from the Ohio State University School of Pharmacy.

Separately, in collaboration with the Lake County General Health District, the Ohio University Extension is running “Project OPIATE” where Mentor and Willoughby-Eastlake High School students talk to their younger peers about opiate misuse. Last year was the first year of the program and Allison said they plan on continuing the program.

“Research and evidence shows peer-to-peer leadership education is more impactful, Especially for youth with high risk,” Allison said.