Tuesday, March 19th, 2024
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Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth

Millersville will host award-winning writer Sam Quinones this month.

Thanks to the Opioid Workforce Expansion Program’s $1.3 million grant, Millersville University’s School of Social Work and the Wehrheim School of Nursing will host award-winning writer Sam Quinones later this month. The author of “The Least of Us – True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth” and “Dreamland” will be the keynote for three educational events.

Book cover for The Least of Us
Book cover for “The Least of Us”

Quinones is a journalist, storyteller, former LA Times reporter and author of several acclaimed books of narrative nonfiction. His career as a journalist has spanned almost 30 years. He lived for 10 years as a freelance writer in Mexico, where he wrote his first two books. In 2004, he returned to the United States to work for the L.A. Times, covering immigration, drug trafficking, neighborhood stories and gangs.

On March 17, Quinones will take part in a book club from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. On March 21, he will give a presentation in the Student Memorial Center at 6 p.m. And, on March 22, he’ll take part in an interview and Q&A beginning at 9 a.m. All three events will be accessible through Zoom. For more information and to register click here.

The educational events are co-sponsored by the School of Social Work, the Learning Institute, the Wehrheim School of Nursing and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

About the Opioid Workforce Expansion Program grant:
The OWEP grant at Millersville University provides more than 75 stipends over three years to Master of Social Work and Doctor of Nurse Practitioner students. The purpose of the grant is to increase the number of students participating in community-based experiential interdisciplinary practicums to address the prevention, treatment and/or recovery aspects of Opioid Use Disorders. The students complete practicums in healthcare settings such as integrated care and treatment programs and in community-based programs such as schools and other agencies.

“The focus of the grant is to provide services in a medically underserved area, which central PA has been designated by the federal government. Graduates will be servicing medically underserved patients with substance or opioid use disorders,” says Dr. Marc Felizzi, associate professor and OWEP/HRSA Grant Principal Investigator/Project Director at Millersville University.

Each OWEP student must apply and be accepted into the grant. They must be in the second year of the MSW program or must be students in the DNP program. MSW students receive a $10,000 stipend, and each DNP student receives a $28,352 stipend. They receive the monies after they have completed all OWEP grant requirements including graduation with their MSW or DNP degree.

“Expanding the number of practitioners who work with and apply cutting edge interventions is sorely needed in this region, and hence, one can see why expanding the workforce to address drug overdose rates is critical to the health and well-being of our citizens,” says Felizzi.

For more information or to apply for the Opioid Workforce Expansion Grant, check out OWEP Grant.

 

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