Empty-Nest Workshops – Learning to Live (and Love) in an Empty Nest

Posted by Andy Alt

This article recently appeared in TIME magazine. Below is an excerpt; click the link to read the full article on TIME’s web site.

Learning to Live (and Love) in an Empty Nest
Monday, Aug. 24, 2009
By Bonnie Rochman

[...]

There’s a growing cottage industry of experts who contend that sending kids off into the great wide open deserves at least as much attention as preparing to have them in the first place. Community centers and churches around the country are tuning in to the problem and hosting seminars in which parents try to reignite their relationship and figure out how to move forward as a twosome. Marriage therapists Claudia and David Arp call this stage “the second half of marriage.”

[...]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1916284,00.html

Northfield Grief Support Coalition Updated Brochure for Groups and Special Events 2009-2010

Posted by Andy Alt on October 6, 2009

Barbara Knaak has sent me the brochure for the Northfield Grief Support Coalition’s groups and special events for 2009-2010 (for detailed information about the group, visit http://northfieldmn.wordpress.com/resources-g-m/northfield-grief-support-coalition/):

VFW Stands Up Against Military Suicides

Posted by Andy Alt on June 17, 2009

Something I recently came across on the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) web site.

(For Northfielder’s: to watch a video of the 2005 Northfield Veteran’s Memorial dedication, visit http://northfieldmn.wordpress.com/resources-s-z/veterans/)

VFW Stands Up Against Military Suicides (May 29, 2009 ?)

In an open letter, VFW Commander-in-Chief Glen Gardner is urging his 1.6 million members to help OEF/OIF veterans cope with the stresses of war.

Dear Comrades:

There is an enemy in our midst that is having a devastating effect on our servicemen and women in the field and at home. That enemy is stress.

Since 9/11, more military personnel and veterans have committed suicide than the total dead from both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined, and this tragedy is occurring despite the best of intentions and programs offered by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. That is because the need has overwhelmed the capacity of government and civilian mental health centers. It’s also because some people simply refuse to admit they need help.

South Central Minnesota Mental Health Resource List

TIME: Starting a diaper bank

Posted by Andy Alt

Recently an article appeared in TIME magazine about a volunteer-operated diaper bank, and how to start one:
Starting a Diaper Bank

[...]
“I saw a mother take a diaper off, empty the solids and put it back on,” says Goldblum. Not having enough diapers, she realized, has far-reaching effects. “Most day-care centers require parents to provide their own,” she says. And without day care, parents can’t look for work or go to school. Cloth diapers don’t help, because low-income families tend not to have washing machines or cars to get to the Laundromat. Moreover, she knew that babies who sit longer in their own waste get more diaper rashes and cry more. And she’d read the studies showing that more crying leads to more physical abuse.
[...]
FOR MORE DETAILS Download a free how-to manual at thediaperbank.org

NAMI presenting two workshops in Faribault: Children’s Challenging Behaviors, Kidshops

Posted by Andy Alt / http://northfieldmn.wordpress.com

From Tina at SCCMHI, I received a copy of the following email:

NAMI Minnesota will be in Faribault on Saturday, May 16, 2009 presenting two workshops at Kids Avenue located at 2700 Cardinal Lane in Faribault.

The first workshop, Children’s Challenging Behaviors, is for parents, caregivers and/or foster care parents of children with challenging behaviors and/or mental health diagnosis.  It will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and includes lunch.

Bethel/First United Church of Christ Grief Support Group

Posted by Andy Alt on May 3, 2009

Bethel/First United Church of Christ Grief Support Group

This group is part of the Northfield Grief Support Coalition.

Location: Bethel Lutheran Church
Dates: Weekly on Wednesday / May 27, 2009 – July 1, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
( View full calendar )

The purpose of the Northfield Grief Support Coalition is to provide a list of grief and loss support groups and resources for people in our community. By working together, various support groups are available throughout the year, along with special events, services and presentations on topics related to grief and loss. regardless of who you are, or the nature of your loss, we hope you find something here to assist you on your own healing journey. You are not alone.

May is Mental Health Month, Warm Line and Crisis Line

Posted by Andy Alt on May 1, 2009

On the South Central Community Based Initiative Message Board there is a recent post by the admin titled May is Mental Health Month. The question is:

What are you doing to observe May as Mental Health Month? Share with us, or give suggestions that someone else may want to do.

I don’t have an answer for this yet. If you do, please visit the links above.

Indirectly related, yesterday I noticed a wrong phone number for the Warm Line showing on the South Central Community Based Initiative web site. It was on a graphic displayed on the left-hand side of their site. This morning I saw it had been corrected.