Feds announce telemedicine, housing initiatives to fight opioid epidemic in rural areas - Entrepreneur Generations

The federal government has taken several steps recently toward fighting the opioid epidemic in rural areas, including a program to help create transitional housing in rural areas for recovering opioid addicts.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Rural Development to administer the program, according to a press release. Through it, USDA-owned single-family housing units will be available for sale at a discount to nonprofits that provide housing, treatment, job training and other services for people in addiction recovery.

The USDA also recently announced that it would give first consideration to opioid treatment projects that apply for its Distance Learning and Telemedicine program.

"The opioid epidemic is dramatically impacting prosperity in many small towns and rural places across the country," said Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett in a statement. "With this focused investment, we are targeting our resources to be a strong partner to rural communities to build innovative local responses to this significant challenge."

Hazlett will soon leave her role in Rural Development to serve as the senior advisor for rural affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

from The Rural Blog http://bit.ly/2GzwXBk Feds announce telemedicine, housing initiatives to fight opioid epidemic in rural areas - Entrepreneur Generations

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