Faculty and staff members from IndianaUniversity Northwest and other area colleges and universities haveformed a partnership to explore recent initiatives in the public sectorto develop a regional response to the problems of substance abuse. Scholarsfrom various disciplines, including criminal justice, nursing, social workand public administration have come together to form the Substance AbuseAcademic Network (SAAN). SAAN also welcomes participation from substanceabuse practitioners and law enforcement.

The network plans to focus on three main objectives that include identifyingresources to create and maintain a substance abuse web page, providingan ongoing venue for future academic-practitioner collaboration and sponsoringmonthly workshops and programs pertaining to substance abuse prevention,treatment, and criminal justice.
Grant Writing for Substance Abuse and Related Topics is thefirst workshop scheduled for Sept. 14, with grant writing expert and educator,Jerry Long presenting. Long has over 25 years experience in human serviceprogram planning and grant proposal development. Currently employed atEdgewater Systems for BalancedLiving, Inc., he also serves as staff support to the Northwest IndianaQuality of Life Council, and is a board member of the Grand Cal Task Forceand the Northwest Indiana Brownfields Redevelopment Project. Long has anMA in history and an MPA, and is currently completing a doctoral programin public administration at Universityof Illinois at Chicago.  

 Other monthly SAAN workshops scheduled are, Models of CriminalJustice Intervention for Substance Abuse Offenders, on Oct. 12; BrainTargets for the Treatment of Addiction: How Abused Drugs Hijack the Brain,on Nov. 16; and Changes in Aging: Sociological, Psychological, and PhysiologicalPerspectives, on Dec. 14.

All workshops will be at the NorthwesternIndiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) Northwest Forum Buildingin Portage. They will begin with refreshments at 7:30 a.m. with the workshoppresentations from 8 to 10 a.m. The workshops are free of charge to thecommunity, but reservations are necessary. Continuing education credits(CEU’s) are available. For more information on SAAN or to register forthe Sept. 14 grant writing class, contact the IUNorthwest Division of ContinuingEducation at 219-980-6829 or at rlovely@iunhaw1.iun.indiana.edu.