Stillwater Gains $75,000 to Fight Opioid Addiction
SPS receives Oklahoma Attorney General’s abatement grant
Stillwater Public Schools has received a grant from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Opioid Abatement Board for $75,000 to proactively fight opioid abuse. The grant was obtained through the efforts of the district’s Wellness and Trauma Response Coordinator Kira Frisby, Multi-Tiered Support Systems and Prevention Grant Coordinator Lindy Zamborsky, and Substance Abuse Counselor Rachel Roberts.
“In recent years, our community has witnessed a troubling rise in opioid misuse, leading to devastating consequences such as addiction, overdose, and loss of life,” Frisby wrote in summary to the Stillwater Board of Education. “As educators, we are not only committed to academic excellence but also to the holistic health and safety of our students. The opioid abatement grant presents a crucial opportunity for us to implement and explain evidence-based prevention, intervention, and treatment strategies within our school district.”
“The psychological distress that some of our students experience from addiction, whether it’s themselves struggling or a family member or friend, can really resonate through, really, every part of their lives,” says Frisby, stating that school attendance, learning, and mental health can all be affected.
Having secured the grant, the district aims to supplement existing programs that address drugs and addiction, enhance prevention efforts, strengthen intervention measures, expand access to treatment, and foster community engagement. Through education, prevention, and support, the district hopes to mitigate the impact of addiction on school communities and empower students to make healthy choices for their futures.
“Thank you to our Wellness and Trauma Response team of Kira Frisby, Lindy Zamborsky, and Rachel Roberts,” says Superintendent Uwe Gordon. “Through their efforts and with the support of the Board, this funding puts us at $975,000 that we’ve gained over a three year period to support our students. I’m excited to see this funding put to use to help keep Stillwater’s children following positive, healthy behaviors and to help those who’ve fallen into substance abuse steer back onto a better path.”
