Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement Receives Second Federal Grant for Combating Opioid Overdoses at Community Level
October 5, 2018
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
Applications are now being accepted from health agencies, nonprofits, community organizations and others to support local initiatives to combat the nation's opioid addiction crisis, through a grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. For the second year in a row, the University of Baltimore's Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement will manage the grant program, known as Combating Opioid Overdose through Community-level Intervention Initiative (COOCLI). This year, the total dollars available via the COOCLI has increased to $3.5 million, over last year’s $2 million. The deadline for submitting an application is Oct. 31.
The center will fund and study innovative initiatives—submitted from anywhere in the United States—that:
- undertake research activities that entail implementing and evaluating community-based efforts to fight the opioid overdose epidemic; and
- support and promote the partnership of law enforcement and public health agencies, whose collaboration is critical to reducing overdose and other harms of opioid (mis)use.
"Every community, from major cities to small towns, has been affected by the opioid crisis," says Tom Carr, executive director of the center. "This is not a problem that can be understood from the perspective of a person’s home address, their family background, or their livelihood. It is pervasive, complicated, and difficult to control. But with these National Drug Control Policy grants, which support local efforts to untangle the problem of opioid overdose and addiction, we are making an impact. Community by community, we are fighting back, and winning."
Carr says that each of last year's grant recipients—13 programs, spread out across nine states—met the grant's criteria of treating the opioid problem as a local problem.
"The recipients all understood that impact can happen when they understand the challenges within their own communities," he said.
Learn more about the COOCLI grant, and receive guidance on applying and more, here.
Learn more about UB's Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.