The Bryan Prevention and Recovery, a collaborative organization representing the Bryan County community, launched its new impact report March 1. This resource highlights the issues Bryan County faces as residents remain at risk for substance abuse of all types, according to a press release from the group.
The impact report summarizes the history of the organization and an overview of its drug-prevention efforts over the last four years, the release said.
When Bryan County Opioid Prevention Project started in September 2017, focusing on opioid misuse prevention strategies, the opioid epidemic was the hot topic with lots of funding flowing into states from the federal government to help communities address issues at the local level.
Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken center stage in relation to funding and data collection while many communities are seeing increased rates of opioid misuse, overdose and deaths.
After losing the original funding from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), the collaborative changed its name to Bryan Prevention and Recovery since the data continued to show not only problematic use of opioids within Bryan County, but also other drug use (like alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco) especially among young people. In addition, recovery support services in the area barely exist and most people are required to go outside of the county to get treatment, including residential or out-patient options.
The impact report was created to gauge progress, and identify the next steps for the collaborative and community to prevent misuse and abuse of drugs while supporting those in recovery. Some of the recommendations in the report include providing more intensive drug prevention curriculum to seventh- and eighth-graders; continuing community awareness programs regarding the dangers of drug abuse; educating parents and grandparents on how to talk to youth about drugs and protect their children; helping to reduce the rate of overdose through programs like ODMAP, Safe Stations, and Naloxone distribution; supporting law enforcement in implementing compliance checks with all alcohol and tobacco outlets; and increasing recovery support activities in the community.
The full report is available at www.bryanprevention.com.