The PROMISE Initiative landing page
The PROMISE Initiative, PReventing Opioid Misuse In the South East, seeks to fight the growing opioid epidemic using a multi-phased approach to prevent prescription opioid misuse in rural Mississippi. 443 Mississippians died from an opioid-related overdose in 2020, a 124.9% increase since 2019 (MPDH, 2020). With Mississippi and the United States facing the worst increase in opioid-related deaths in recent years, the team of Extension professionals working on the PROMISE Initiative focuses on understanding all possible risk factors associated with substance misuse, mental health, and farm stress.
The PROMISE Initiative works to build resiliency-based extension programming in rural communities through:
- Increasing community engagement, assessing the region’s perceived needs and readiness for education about opioid misuse, and implementing tailored programs to meet those needs
- Using hands-on extension education to build community capacity for understanding the opioid crisis.
- Developing and implementing media campaigns to encourage proper opioid use and disposal
- Identifying placement of prescription drug take-back boxes throughout the state
- Combating farm stress in agriculturally engaged populations, identified as a common risk factor for mental health
This project is supported by Rural Health and Safety Education Grant No. 2020-46100-32841 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Rural Opioids Technical Assistance (ROTA) Grant No. 5H79TI083275-02 from the DHHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the MS Governor’s Education Emergency Response Funds 2020, and USDA NIFA Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network – State Department of Agriculture Grant No. 2021-70035-35566 from Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
