Jay County Health & Human Sciences
What We Do
Purdue Extension Health and Human Sciences provides education to people of all ages in Indiana's 92 counties. The community is our classroom- where we bring university information to the local level and help people strengthen families, spend smart, eat right and live well.
Meet the Educator
Thank you for visiting the Jay County Purdue Extension Health & Human Science website! My name is Ashley Drees, and I joined the Jay County Purdue Extension team in August of 2023. I come to Purdue Extension with a decade of classroom experience as a high school Family and Consumer Sciences teacher. I specialize in human development and changes across the lifespan. I also have extensive training and experience in public health. I partner with several local organizations and agencies to stay up-to-date on our county's needs.
My role as the Health & Human Sciences Educator is to provide community needs-based education to community members of all ages. My goal is to make the community my classroom in subjects surrounding finance, family, food, and wellness. This includes important topics such as savings/budgeting, parenting, food safety, food nutrition, physical/emotional/ and mental wellness.
We offer programs to the community such as:
- Where Does Your Money Go?- designed to help consumers better understand how they spend their money
- Dining with Diabetes- a cooking school that offers a practical approach to eating well for those with Type 2 diabetes
- Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14- The World Health Organization named Strengthening Families Program the #1 prevention program out of 6,000 programs analyzed for long-term effects on substance use and misuse.
- Parent Cafes- engages parents/caregivers in meaningful conversations about what matters most – their families and how to strengthen their families by building protective factors
- A Matter of Balance- a fall prevention program that encourages cognitive restructuring. It is designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity levels among older adults
- Safe Sleep- teaches caregivers the ABCs of safe sleep in an effort to reduce SIDs
- Safe @ Home- teaches 10-year-olds how to stay at home by themselves safely for short amounts of time
- Be Heart Smart- aims to reduce heart disease among Indiana residents and help participants identify and improve controllable risk factors for heart disease
- and many more!
To schedule a program or class, please contact me either by phone or email!
You may also be interested in the seasonal newsletter, please email me and detail if you would like to receive a digital or paper copy of this newsletter.
I look forward to hearing from you soon!
