By Marc R. Masferrer, University Communications and Marketing
The Duvall Conference at University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee on April 2 will kick off USF’s effort to help local governments and other organizations develop new ways to fight addictions and substance misuse in Manatee-Sarasota.
Dane Minnick is an assistant professor of social work and the Evelyn Duvall Endowed Chair of Family Development and Community Health at USF Sarasota-Manatee.
Why it matters?
The opioid epidemic of the past decade hit the region hard, exposing a lack of sufficient treatment and recovery options and other weaknesses. USF’s goal is to help close the gaps by embedding faculty members with local health agencies and other groups to research and develop strategies and solutions.
That’s an “holistic” approach conference organizer Dane Minnick, who has researched how to build academic relationships with a community, said universities usually don’t take when it comes to behavioral health.
“The goal is you shouldn’t be able to attend a lot of local behavioral health system meetings without seeing a strong USF presence,” said Minnick, an assistant professor of social work in the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences and the Evelyn Duvall Endowed Chair of Family Development and Community Health at USF Sarasota-Manatee.
What is the Duvall Initiative?
- The Evelyn Duvall Endowed Chair of Family Development and Community Health was established in 1986 through a generous gift from Evelyn Duvall, a pioneer in family development and family functioning research.
- A primary focus of the chair is the Sarasota-Manatee Duvall Initiative, which focuses on local efforts to enhance family and community health in the region.
Brett Kemker, interim regional chancellor at USF Sarasota-Manatee, said the Duvall Initiative highlights USF Sarasota-Manatee's ability and willingness to draw on resources from across the university to help address community-wide challenges.
“Part of our mission at USF Sarasota-Manatee is to use our unique position to conduct the research and provide resources to make this a better community for our students, faculty, staff, alumni and other residents,” Kemker said. “The opioid epidemic has had devastating impacts on our community and shown there are many unmet needs in the local health system. I am confident Dr. Minnick and the Duvall Initiative will help Manatee and Sarasota counties develop some powerful, meaningful solutions.”
Who is the Duvall Conference for?
Minnick said the Duvall Conference’s program is for service providers, law enforcement and elected officials, community residents, USF faculty, staff and students and “anybody with an interest in improving the local health outcomes surrounding substance misuse.”
“One of the themes of this conference is how you can leverage university expertise, faculty expertise and other resources to build up local capacities, whether it’s helping to design evidence-based programs or helping local organizations find additional funding or even doing community assessments to figure out where the target populations are and what the needs are,” said Minnick, who was the director of the Center for Substance Use Research and Community Initiatives at Ball State University in Indiana before joining USF last year.
The Duvall Conference will take place in the Student Center Ballroom from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 2.
Highlights of the agenda
- A morning keynote by Jean Marie Place and Jonel Thaller, two of Minnick’s former colleagues at Ball State, on building community academic partnerships.
- A panel discussion with PJ Brooks, CEO of CASEL, which provides affordable housing to people in need; Manatee County Commissioner Amanda Ballard; Sarasota County Commissioner Tom Knight; Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Todd Shear; Brenda Brooker, lead peer with NAMI of Sarasota and Manatee Counties; Shavon Clark, a nurse with Lightshare Behavioral Wellness and Recovery and an adjunct faculty member in the USF College of Nursing; and moderator Chris Groeber of the USF School of Social Work.
- An afternoon keynote by Sonya Johnson, lead peer coordinator with NAMI of Sarasota and Manatee Counties, on “adversity, recovery and community change.”
During a working lunch, attendees can learn how to give Naloxone to someone who has overdosed. They also will as judge a Recovery Art Contest and view research posters submitted by USF students.
Minnick said local officials and other experts are excited to work with USF to address behavioral health issues in the community.
“People are eager to partner and collaborate on new projects and to really make changes,” he said.
Learn more at the webpage for the Duvall Conference.