UT SMART is proud to announce that we are part of teams that have been awarded two of the Type 1 UT Grand Challenges grants, which have been launched to foster partnerships that develop innovative solutions to some of the state's most pressing issues: strengthening rural communities, overcoming addiction, and advancing K-12 education.
When staff shortages and tight funding meet a rise in drug crime, you might not expect an overburdened police department to make extra work for themselves. Yet that is exactly what happened in Chattanooga in the mid 2010s, when calls to EMS started backing up so severely the cops had to start shouldering more of the response than ever before.
The article below is quoted from "UT Works with Community Partners to Address Health Issues in Rural Counties and Underserved Groups," published on UT's Research, Innovation & Economic Development website on August 28th, 2024. Please see the full article to learn about other ways in which UT is helping to improve the lives of Tennesseeans.
SMART’s Middle Tennessee Substance Use Response Consultant Trevor Henderson provides some key insight into what we are seeing with overdose trends. See below and read the full article for all pertinent information.
“How can anyone be doing drugs when we all know fentanyl is in everything?” We at UT SMART hear this question a lot from community leaders across the state. How is it that people keep risking their lives when we know for a fact that drugs are more lethal than ever?
Sam Quinones, award winning author of Dreamland and The Least of Us, two books that dive deep into the social and cultural realities of the overdose crisis, may have the answer to that question.
SMART’s Program Coordinator Jeremy Kourvelas presented to the Tennessee Public Health Association (TPHA) on best practices relating to using local data to inform decisions, covering:
Please join our regional substance use response consultants for free technical assistance and guidance on matters related to the opioid settlements during their quarterly office hours on August 14 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, 8:00-10:00 Central Time.
Register here for this free session.
Cities and counties, please note that an important September reporting deadline is right around the corner. Our consultants are here to help!
Jefferson County was awarded Excellence in the Application of the Opioid Litigation Principles by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for using the following evidence-based principles in helping guide the effective spending of their settlement dollars:
SMART's Courtney Collier, our West Tennessee Substance Use Response Consultant, attended the inaugural meeting of the Madison County opioid abatement council and was interviewed by local media station WBBJ. View the article and television clip.
A slight correction, however: Courtney is incorrectly identified as part of UT Martin's staff, when he is, in fact, from the UT Institute for Public Service SMART Initiative.