WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Business and community leaders, joined by Indiana State Senator Jim Merritt and Indiana Executive Director of Drug Enforcement Treatment and Prevention Jim McClelland, have announced a new coalition to fight the state’s opioid epidemic.
The coalition is called Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative Indiana, or RALI for short.
RALI plans to provide new resources and education to organizations and communities.
One of the ways they hope to do that is through grants.
The coalition’s first grant is going to the Indiana Chamber and Wellness Council of Indiana’s Workforce Recovery Initiative, created earlier this year to understand how the opioid epidemic is impacting employers.
The goal of the Indiana Workforce Recovery Initiative is to get employers from around the state together and educate them on what the opioid epidemic really is and to provide them with some tools and resources to change the way they think about the opioid epidemic in their workplace.
“What we know is that the opioid epidemic is happening in many of our towns and communities but employers are still left wondering but what does it mean to me and how do I need to take this information and be impactful and help my employee,” said Wellness Council of Indiana Executive Director Jennifer Pferrer.
Along with the grants, RALI will be giving out thousands of safe drug disposal kits.
Some of the organizations involved in this initiative are the Indiana Chamber, Drug and the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association.