Opioid crisis: MN partners hope prevention success spreads to youth

Minnesota and other states are trying to sustain recent progress in reducing opioid overdose deaths, even as response leaders say front line teams are being asked to do a lot with limited resources.

In Minnesota, opioid overdose deaths have fallen sharply from recent pandemic-era spikes, mirroring national data but rates remain higher than they were before COVID-19.

Dr. Karen Scott, president of the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts, said partners are still trying to address teens’ access to counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl. The foundation’s recent grant awards emphasize organizations affected populations often turn to first.

“We really recognized a gap in funding opportunities for smaller organizations that are working at a very local level to address the overdose crisis in terms of prevention, harm reduction, connecting people to treatment,” Scott explained.

The foundation's new round of community grantees includes the Metro Youth Diversion Center in Minneapolis. The center plans to update its culturally crafted curriculum in response to changing drug use trends while also doing community outreach. The center primarily serves immigrants from East Africa.

Recent student survey data showed spikes in the percentage of Minnesota eighth and ninth graders reporting misuse of pain medications.

Alison Sutter, senior program officer for the foundation, said direct responses such as distributing the lifesaving medication naloxone have helped stem overdoses. She added the efforts are complemented by strategies from local groups looking at family structure and “upstream” determinants of health.

“Thinking about sort of family stability, helping to keep families together safely if there are risks of family separation related to incarceration or family services involvement,” Sutter outlined.

For youth in such situations, foundation grants are helping local partners expand efforts such as family reunification supports, with the goal of aiding adolescent recovery. The foundation said aid elsewhere in the country is going toward boosting naloxone training in school settings. Minnesota already requires resources and protocols in its schools.