The fight against drugs just got a new ally.
A new institute will be created on campus to combat drug and violence issues in community schools across the state.
Using expertise from all over campus, the institute will work in assisting school districts in cleaning up their learning environment, said Craig Yaldoo, director for the Office of Drug Control Policy.
"I was interested in supporting an institute that was capable of sending a knowledgeable team into troubled schools and communities to actually help them improve," he said.
Funding for the institute, which has no set opening date, came from a $400,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Community Health's Office of Drug Control Policy.
The money will go toward staffing the institute, traveling expenses and bringing in expert advisers, said Hiram Fitzgerald, assistant provost for MSU's Office of University Outreach.
MSU's Office of University Outreach and the College of Education's Office of K-12 Outreach Programs will participate in the institute's organization.
The institute will be housed in the College of Education's Office of K-12 Outreach Programs, Yaldoo said.
Going into the community and installing drug and violence-free programs will be a crucial step, Fitzgerald said.
Yaldoo said the institute will make the most difference by taking an active role in schools.
"Overwhelmingly our schools are safe and drug free," he said. "But in the case where there is drugs or a threat of violence, Michigan needed a proactive approach."
The institute will start off by selecting and working with the school, government and neighborhood systems of a pilot community for several months, Fitzgerald said.
"They have to buy into it or it doesn't work," he said. "These are going to be pretty extensive efforts to change."
Criteria for the community will be based on its willingness to get involved and a threat assessment of the impact of drugs and violence in their area, Yaldoo said.
No community has been chosen.
Yaldoo said the institute will be ready to handle any challenges in a community.
"This institute will as easily go into schools in the urban areas as in affluent areas," he said. "Drug use and violence do not discriminate."
