The WISE Program is a wellness and prevention program targeting older adults, which is designed to help them celebrate healthy aging, make healthy lifestyle choices and avoid substance abuse. It provides valuable educational services to older adults on topics including nutrition and exercise, medication use, stress management, depression and substance abuse.

Created by NJPN and implemented locally by our member agencies, WISE promotes health through education concerning high-risk behaviors in older adults. Since the program was launched in 1996, prevention programs presented by WISE Volunteers have reached over 40,000 individuals.

The WISE Program was recently awarded a 2009 National Exemplary Award for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Practices, and Policies by The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). The award was presented to NJPN at the 2009 National Prevention Network Research Conference in Anaheim, California.

Accepting the award for NJPN are (from left) Diane Litterer, NJPN’s Executive Director; Steve Liga, Executive Director of NCADD of Middlesex County; and Diane Liga, NJPN’s Development Director.

Curriculum
The six-lesson curriculum is facilitated by trained prevention specialists once per week over a six-week period. Each lesson is two to three hours in length and includes breakfast or lunch. The content is organized in a manner to promote the understanding and value of generational diversity in a format that excites and energizes participants to share what they have learned with family, friends, and peers. During the lessons, participants are educated without the use of didactic teaching, but rather through interactive exercises that include small group discussion and projects, as this method of learning has been shown to be more effective with adult learners. They are also given tools and resources to take home, increasing the likelihood that what they have learned will be put into practice and shared.

WISE Overview:
The Six Lessons