For its second year of Operation Engage – a community-level approach to tackling the drug epidemic – the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Detroit Field Division received funding to add efforts in a second Michigan city: Kalamazoo.
“The Detroit Field Division is bringing Operation Engage to a second community, Kalamazoo,” Kent Kleinschmidt, Acting Special Agent in Charge, said. “As we all know, there are far too many non-fatal and fatal drug overdoses affecting our communities, and sadly, these numbers are increasing. In response, Operation Engage is a community-level collaborative approach to help reduce these numbers through education and awareness, using our wide range of resources.”
These efforts focus on three areas: identifying and prioritizing drug threats and substance use trends, supporting local substance use prevention efforts, and bridging local public safety and public health efforts. To achieve this, Operation ENGAGE works to connect DEA field offices like Detroit with local communities, leverage federal intelligence to build awareness at the local level, raise that awareness and change attitudes to reduce substance misuse, and support community outreach efforts, such as drug-free community coalitions, public health and prevention leaders.
The Detroit Field Division’s call for support in Kalamazoo was one of 11 proposals approved for continued funding this year. In addition to the focus on opioids, this push will also target drug trafficking, violence, and overall crime reduction in the city, once it launches on March 10, 2022.
To begin, the DEA will hold a virtual stakeholders meeting with local faith, health, law enforcement, public safety, education, prevention, and other interested leaders and professionals. With their input, the administration hopes to improve community resources to deal with substance abuse.