Jan Noble

On October 7, 2015, the Council for a Drug-Free-LaGrange County posthumously nominated Jan Noble, Sr. for the Northeast Region award of the Governor’s Commission for a Drug-Free Indiana. This 2015 award acknowledges an individual for whole-hearted contributions to a community regarding the negative impact of alcohol and other drugs.

 

Jan Noble, Sr. worked professionally in the addictions treatment field for more than 27 years. He provided education/support for many persons on the recovery journey; he also worked by way of Alcoholics Anonymous [AA] membership for over 37 years.  Jan started was responsible for starting countless AA groups and sober support programs.

 

In about 1980, Noble wrote Tools of Recovery, an accumulation and editing of significant elements of recovery from AA lore. This publication is read in this region at virtually every AA meeting.

 

In 1985, he co-founded an outpatient treatment facility with his wife, Shirley. It continues to this day as Addictions Recovery Centers, Inc. [ARC] with offices in Columbia City, Elkhart, LaGrange and South Bend – along with the Goshen hub. ARC, Inc. is one of the largest organizations in Indiana devoted to outpatient treatment and education of persons with addictions and substance abuse.

 

Jan died on June 5, 2015, but the impact of this life well lived shall influence countless persons for years to come.

 

This Regional award was presented at the November 13, 2015 Northeast Region Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with a continuing education training event and luncheon at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne.

 

Words on the plaque given to Jan Noble, Sr.’s family members are as follows:

The Northeast Region of the Governor’s Commission for a Drug-Free Indiana recognizes Jan Noble, Sr. as the individual who has made outstanding contributions to his community.

As a follow up to this award, The Council for a Drug-Free-LaGrange County presented family representative Jan Noble, Jr. with a framed certificate at their annual holiday luncheon on December 2, 2015 recognizing Noble, Sr. as a rare LaGrange County winner of this Regional Award. Chosen from nominees from 15 counties making up the Northeast Region, this moment of acknowledgement provided a special way to honor Jan Noble, Sr. for his many years of ongoing service to his community, Northeast Indiana and beyond.

 

Yvonne Riege

ARC CEO and President Jan Noble was recently asked to present before the Indiana Governor’s Task Force on Drug Enforcement, Treatment and Prevention on behalf of the Elkhart County Drug Free Partnership (ECDFP).

The Task Force consists of persons concerned with the impact of drugs and alcohol on Hoosiers throughout the state. This body will be making recommendations that are expected to result in legislative and other policy changes relating to substance use issues.

The Task Force is Co- Chaired by John Hill of Governor Pence’s office, and Dr. John Wernert, Director of Family and Social Services Administration in Indiana. Both actively participated in this session.  Other members in attendance included State Senator Jim Merritt, and a number of others representing a wide variety of expertise across the state.

Alongside fellow ECDFP members Jim Starkey (President) and Sharon Burden (Treatment Committee Chair) – the group spoke at the November 19, 2015 meeting on the campus of the University of Notre Dame (in the historic Monogram room, Joyce Center).

Representing the ECDFP contingent, Noble, Starkey and Burden had been requested to provide a short presentation as part of the meeting agenda.  Jim Starkey started by offering a review of how local coordinating committees (LCC’s) were structured, how they obtained funds, how funds are distributed and requirements pertaining to allocations of funds (treatment, prevention and criminal justice).

Sharon Burden, (Chair of PEPSA – the St. Joe County LCC), Director of the Alcohol and Addictions Resource Center (AARC) in South Bend, and member of the ECDFP, followed with more specific information regarding the activities and initiatives in St. Joe County (in general) and in Elkhart County (in the treatment arena).

Jan Noble continued by giving examples of  successes including the impact of bringing in expert speakers from around the country that have led to quality programming in Elkhart County.  Specific citations included the Project STAR law enforcement Program, Social Norming Programming that is now in numerous county school systems, and treatment grants for low income individuals seeking substance abuse services.

Immediately following the presentation, Task Force members offered a host of questions – which allowed all three presenters to interact. The meeting continued with a Public Comment period, and ended with the Task Force engaging in discussion and giving a number of recommendations, including official statements endorsed by State Senator Merritt.