Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES—The Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) Rural Opioid Initiatives, the Meramec Region’s Rural Opioid Program (MRROP) and Opioid Affected Youth Initiative (OAYI), in partnership with Mid-MO Addiction Awareness Group (MAAG) will host an opioid use disorder awareness walk in Belle on June 26, beginning at 10:00. 

The walk aims at providing awareness for opioid use disorder. MRPC’s rural opioid initiatives work to educate, increase awareness and identify prevention strategies for opioid use disorder throughout the Meramec Region for youth, children, families and adults. Resource information will be available at the walk. Area residents are encouraged to join the walk or stop by the information booth to learn about resources for persons and families suffering from opioid use disorder. 

Participants will meet at Rock Island Railroad Parking Lot on South Alvarado, where sign-ups will be available. The walkers will then travel along Alvarado making a right on Third Street towards city hall and then left on Belle Avenue making another left onto Second Street back to Alvarado where they will travel up Third Street towards the school before coming back along Third Street and then making their way back to the start along Alvarado. Masks and social distancing will be encouraged. 

“We are excited to work with MAAG to bring SUD awareness walks to our region,” said Bonnie Prigge, executive director of MRPC. “From 2015-2019, 11 people in Maries County died of drug overdoses. Eight of those were opioid overdoses. When we look at Maries and its neighboring counties of Gasconade, Osage, Pulaski, and Phelps, there were 180 overdose deaths for that timeframe with 118 of those deaths being opioid overdoses.”

Statistics for 2020 are not yet finalized, Prigge added. 

“Those who lose their lives to opioids are only a small portion of those who suffer from Substance Use Disorder, and it has a tremendous impact on families and communities,” Prigge said. “The purpose of the walk is making others aware of SUD in our communities as MRPC and its partners look for solutions that will aid with prevention, treatment and recovery.”

MAAG’s mission is to raise community awareness, share accurate information and break the stigma that surrounds substance use disorder. 

“SUD awareness walks bring light to the issue of substance use disorder to the communities where they take place,” said Christa Harmon, MRPC community development specialist assistant. “We walk together, not ashamed of our loved ones who suffer from SUD. We walk together to be a voice for those who have lost their lives due to overdose. We walk together to show recovery can happen.” 

Persons needing more information on the walk can contact Christa Harmon at 573-265-2993 or by email at charmon@meramecregion.org. Pre-registration is not required.

MRPC is in the third year of a federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to collectively reduce the morbidity and mortality rate related to opioid overdoses in our rural communities. This grant is specific to Crawford, Dent, Maries and Phelps counties. 

This awareness walk is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $738,500 with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The views expressed do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

OAYI is a three-year cooperative award through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The project was created to develop data-driven, coordinated responses to identify and address challenges, resulting from opioid misuse, that is impacting youth and community safety in the eight-county Meramec Region. 

OAYI’s mission is to educate youth and families on opioid-misuse prevention and serve as a conduit to expand availability and knowledge of intervention and recovery programs in the Meramec Region of Missouri. 

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. Gasconade County Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel serves as chairman of the board. A professional staff of 34 offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion/.

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