The Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust, led by Trustee Kevin Tanner, recently held a ceremonial grant signing announcing a multi-million-dollar award to the Georgia Southern University Research and Service Foundation.

The combined total of $3 million in opioid settlement funding will fund five separate grants designed to address recovery, training, and research and evaluation objectives.

The signing ceremony was held at Georgia Southern prior to the Maine vs. Georgia Southern football game. Speaking at the signing ceremony were Tanner, Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero and Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives Jon Burns.

“The Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust is proud to partner with Georgia Southern University’s Research and Service Foundation to support worthwhile projects to combat the effects of the opioid epidemic,” Tanner said. “These funds will directly benefit the Georgia Southern community in Statesboro and Savannah as well as rural hospitals and recovery community organizations across the state.”

“Georgia Southern University is honored to be entrusted with these critical resources to address the opioid crisis in our state,” Marrero said. “As a public-impact research institution, we are committed to leveraging our expertise, partnerships, and reach to make a meaningful difference for our students, communities, and the people of Georgia. We are proud to stand alongside the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust and our statewide partners in advancing recovery and building healthier communities.”

The GS Research and Service Foundation received five separate grant awards, payable over a two-year period, as follows:

· Enhancing Collegiate Recovery Programming at GSU ($111,196.00)

· Enhancing the Response of Rural Hospitals to Georgia’s Opioid Crisis ($319,067.34)

· Operational Training & Education for Recovery Community Organizations in Georgia ($179,377.62)

· Rural Opioid Harm Reduction Project for the Justice-Involved [through the Institute for Health Logistics & Analytics] ($2,203,782.52)

· The Current & Future State of Harm Reduction Services in Georgia ($171,196.96)

With this grant funding support, Georgia Southern will help rural hospitals strengthen their response to opioid use, train recovery community organizations to grow and thrive, study harm reduction services to better inform statewide efforts and enhance support for students in recovery on campus.

The university also is leading the Rural Opioid Harm Reduction for Justice-Involved Individuals Project, which provides tools, resources, and training to sheriff’s offices, local facilities, and individuals impacted by the justice system. Together, these initiatives advance a common mission: reducing overdose deaths, promoting dignity and safety, and improving the health and well-being of communities across Georgia.