Community Clinic awarded $3 million grant to expand rural substance use disorder services in Northwest Arkansas. SPRINGDALE - Community Clinic plans to use a $3 million federal grant over four years to strengthen and expand substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services across rural communities in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The clinic announced the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Impact Grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration in a news release Wednesday. The grant will provide $750,000 annually over four years to Community Clinic. The funding will support a comprehensive regional strategy to address opioid use disorder while also responding to the growing challenges of methamphetamine use, polysubstance use and related behavioral health conditions, the release states. Polysubstance use refers to the use of more than one drug at the same time or within a short time period, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The $3 million grant will support services and infrastructure development over a four-year period, the release states. Led by Community Clinic's Center for Research and Health Innovation, the initiative will serve residents across Madison and Carroll counties as well as rural communities in Benton County. In Oklahoma, the initiative will serve people across Delaware County. According to Community Clinic, the four goals of the grant are to: Expand prevention. Expand treatment and recovery services. Build a sustainable rural workforce. Advance data, quality improvement and sustainability. Community Clinic will lead the initiative in partnership with five organizations: Love Just Works, Boston Mountain Rural Health Center, House of Hope, Grand Mental Health and End Overdose "This investment from HRSA allows us to deepen our commitment to rural communities that continue to face barriers to prevention, treatment and recovery services," Community Clinic CEO Judd Semingson said. "Substance use disorders not only affect individuals, but families, households and communities. Through this regional partnership, we will expand access to evidence-based care, strengthen recovery resources, build a sustainable workforce, and create lasting systems that improve health outcomes throughout our service area." After increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic, national rates of overdose deaths have been on a decline since 2023, CDC data shows. The final national drug overdose death count for 2024 was 80,860, down 24.3% from the previous year. Predicted provisional drug overdose death data for 2025 shows an expected 13% decline from 2024. Provisional CDC data for the first four months of 2026 show declines as well.

Miami Police partner with Grand Mental Health on crisis aid. Posted: Aug 13, 2026 / 07:09 PM CDT Updated: Aug 13, 2026 / 11:25 PM CDT MIAMI, Okla. - A local police department is strengthening its response to mental health emergencies. We spoke with one of the Miami Police Department's newest team members. "I get to go out in the community and help a lot of people; it's a wider variety of people that I get to help now," said Miami Police Department Co-Responder Sarah Lopez. Sarah Lopez says she has been working in the mental health field since she was 17. Now she's bringing that experience to the Miami Police Department as its newly appointed co-responder. Four states crime... "It's different every single day and it's to help with the mental health crisis, substance abuse, and welfare checks," said Lopez. The position was created through a partnership with Grand Mental Health. Miami Police Chief Stephen Sigmon says co-responder programs can vary across police departments. "Some entities put them in the jail, or they have someone that may refer cases to. For the City of Miami we actually have our co-responder respond out with officers," said Sigmon. "It's also helped a lot of police officers understand that not everything is just a crime, some people are just struggling, and they need that extra help," said Lopez. Sigmon hopes to secure additional grant funding to expand the program.