School of Information Assistant Professor Margaret Sullivan is Co-Pi for the College of Social Work’s project “Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Centers (ROTA-R)” which recently earned a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project will work to provide technical assistance and training on opioid harm reduction and prevention to rural communities. It will also partner with local stakeholders including colleges and universities across 8 states to train community members.

As Co-Pi, Sullivan will recruit rural librarians to train them to use the OCLC opioid toolkit. This includes learning to use their local databases to find information on the opioid crisis in their community, to create programming and outreach to aid the crisis, and to utilize self-care to combat burnout. She shared, “While the grant is far-reaching and focuses on the larger picture of opioid misuse prevention and harm reduction, my personal goal is to get as many librarians as possible trained in harm reduction practices and prepared to address the opioid crisis in their communities.” 

When asked about what is next for this project, Sullivan stated, “We are currently recruiting members for the consortium and having our initial meeting. We are casting as wide of a net as we can and inviting many community members to generate excitement and support. We are also planning a symposium on opioid misuse at FSU in March.”

To learn more about the project, visit https://www.samhsa.gov/rural-opioid-technical-assistance-regional-centers