Prevention Empowerment Partnership (PEP) for the River Cities - Opioid Affected Youth Initiative

The OJJDP FY 2020 Opioid Affected Youth Initiative (OAYI) will support the efforts of states, communities, tribal jurisdictions, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations and institutions of higher education to implement programs and strategies that identify, respond to, treat, and support children, youth, and families impacted by the opioid epidemic.

The United Way of the River Cities, Inc. will develop comprehensive strategies to address local, prioritized needs in services. Coalitions, with the help of the evaluation workgroup and key partners, will conduct a formative assessment to examine services for opioid-affected youth along the continuum of care, including prevention, treatment, and recovery services. In collaboration with Marshall University, the evaluation team will develop a toolkit, the Trauma-Informed, Recovery-Oriented System of Care, for use by local coalitions. The project aims to work with local coalition leaders to ensure the inclusion of a broad cross-section of stakeholders to serve youth and families suffering from traumatic stress due to the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic. CA/NCF