Opioid Prevention and Education Network (OPEN-MSU)
One of ACORN’s goals is to build the capacity of local efforts to create or expand opioid prevention, intervention, and treatment opportunities in low-income Michigan communities. Through the Opioid Prevention and Education Network (OPEN-MSU), a program funded by AmeriCorps, we do this by providing nonprofit, faith-based, and public organizations and agencies with volunteers who serve as AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). Through this national service program, VISTA members serve with organizations for one year on projects designed to alleviate poverty.
OPEN-MSU supports local efforts to address the opioid overdose crisis by helping to identify service gaps, improving communication within local collaboratives and organizations, and building organizational capacity, utilizing Michigan State University's opioid research and policy experts to aid in these efforts.
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Community Assessment Support
The AmeriCorps VISTA team have provided initial consultation, assessment, and expertise on how county and local governments can engage with the community to assess existing programs, resources, gaps, needs, and priorities through their community assessment process. The process includes an introductory meeting to identify community partners and stakeholders within the county and determine the specific focus of the evaluation. Planning and logistics include creating, scheduling, and identifying facilitators for focus groups and creating survey questions. The team then conducts focus groups, surveys community members and organizations, and interviews community partners. Finally, they compile survey data, code focus group and interview data, analyze collected data, and create a final report and any additional material such as a presentation, RFP, etc.
More Information
Contact Rose Henderson at hende286@msu.edu