FAMU has been awarded a $864,041 grant that will focus on
substance-abuse education. Yolanda Bogan will direct the three-year grant from the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
According to Bogan, one of the objectives of the grant is to
create a campus culture that encourages students to learn and practice
alternative ways of dealing with stress as a method of drug abuse prevention.
She explained that drug abuse often opens the door for life-altering and
life-threating diseases. She wants students to understand that developing such
habits are counter-productive to their educational and professional goals.
“What we want is for our students to continue to receive messaging about the consequences of drug use, and how drug use can lead to poor decision making, subjecting students to be more vulnerable to contracting HIV and Hepatitis C,” Bogan said.
The grant will support a curriculum for undergraduate
students enrolled in FAMU’s First-Year Experience Program, which allows the
University to directly reach and impact students as they began their college
experience. The First-Year Experience Program assists students with making a
successful transition, academically and socially, from high school to college.
In addition, the program reinforces critical thinking and behaviors that lead
to academic success, and assists students with understanding how to make
informed decisions.
“Congratulations to Dr. Bogan and her team for their stellar
work in bringing this critically needed support to our campus to help ensure
that we continue to lead the way in providing a safe and healthy living and
learning environment for our scholars,” said FAMU President Elmira Mangum.
“Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University is committed to the development
of the whole student, academically, socially and health wise.”
The grant will also provide the university with resources to
train students to become certified peer educators for prevention and informational
programs. Students will play an integral role in helping shape the program’s
awareness campaigns to ensure they are linguistically relevant, age
appropriate, and culturally consistent.