Northern Michigan University will oversee a $2.5 Million research grant addressing poverty and opioid use disorder

Northern Michigan University will oversee a 2.5 million dollar grant program to address addiction, employment, and poverty in the Upper Peninsula.

On Friday Northern Michigan University announced the college will assume oversight of a 2.5 million dollar research grant from the National Institute of Health to evaluate an intervention approach that provides wage supplements, as a way to combat drug addiction, promote employment, and reduce poverty among people living with opioid use disorder. The project is a collaborative effort between NMU’s Department of Psychological Science, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and REACH a substance abuse recovery program based in Baltimore Maryland.

NMU Assistant Professor Forrest Toegel, says the idea behind the intervention-based program is to work with people directly through an employment specialist. People who live in poverty are at an increased risk of having substance abuse disorder, not having employment, and being homeless. Poverty can also contribute to health challenges such as obesity, HIV, Heart disease, and other physical ailments.

Those interested in learning more about the 2.5 million dollar poverty research grant Northern Michigan University will oversee in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine and REACH of Baltimore can find more information here.