Bowling Green, Ky. - “Seasons of Rural America: Practice Implications for Geographically Diverse Populations Throughout the Life Span” is the theme for next week’s 31st Annual National Institute on Social Work and Human Services in Rural Areas.

The conference, co-sponsored by Western Kentucky University and Murray State University, is scheduled for Wednesday-Friday (July 19-21) at the Holiday Inn University Plaza in Bowling Green.

Featured speakers include the following:

*Hilda R. Heady, associate vice president for Rural Health at West Virginia University, executive director of the West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships and program director of the West Virginia AHEC; her topic will be “The Invisible Heroes: Rural Veterans.”

*Ruth Irene Garrett, author of “Born Amish” and “Crossing Over” who left the Amish faith in 1996 and was ultimately excommunicated. She now devotes her time to helping Amish families who have left their communities.

*Dr. Brenda Jarmon, chair and associate professor of Social Work at Florida A&M University whose research interests include examining the impact of media on abstinence education; teen pregnancy prevention; developing cultural sensitivity models for social work practice, and the effects of welfare reform, foster care, health disparities, and domestic violence on children and families; her topic will be “Diversity is More Than Race.”

Social work practitioners, nurses, human service providers and educators from Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, California, Missouri, West Virginia, Alabama and other states are expected to attend.

Topics for sessions at the national institute include rural ethics, issues facing rural social work programs, portrayals of rural Americans in film and television, housing issues, mental health issues, rural social work in India, substance abuse issues, child welfare, Kentucky’s family court system, the impact of hurricanes on rural areas, aging populations and social work education.

More information about the conference is available online at http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Academic/chhs/socialwork/31stNISWHSRA.htm or by calling WKU’s Department of Social Work at (270) 745-5312.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Department of Social Work at (270) 745-5312.

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