EXCERPT: “Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today unveiled a new webpage featuring resources to help rural communities respond to the opioid crisis. ‘While no corner of the country has gone untouched by the opioid crisis, small towns and rural places have been particularly hard hit,’ Hazlett said. ‘The challenge of opioid misuse is an issue of rural prosperity and will take all hands on deck to address. The webpage we are launching today will help rural leaders build a response that is tailored to meet the needs of their community.’ The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that more than 63,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016. More than half of those deaths involved opioids, including prescription drugs and heroin. USDA is playing an important role to help rural communities address this national problem at the local level through program investment, strategic partnerships and best practice implementation.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2ortJ7e
