Fresh Perspectives
Girls,
Whatever your struggles may be, bring them to our group so we can help you discover new ways to deal with them and new opportunities to learn about yourself.
We’re happy to be offering our next 10 week group for teenage girls ages 14-18 called “Who Am I:A Journey to Self Discovery”. This group will help empower you to make changes in your life that will increase your satisfaction and your sense of control…and we have fun while we do it!
We will meet weekly on Thursdays from 5-6:15, starting on March 1st. Join us for a time that will be devoted to you and your needs. All it takes is to call us at 243-2551 to get the ball rolling. I look forward to meeting you.
Judie Harris
Co-facilitator
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Judie – I am so excited about our new group! It is only a few weeks away, and I can’t wait to meet all of the girls and help them through whatever struggles they may be having. I know our last group thought the discussions were really helpful, especially because they had a safe, nonjudgmental and confidential place to share their feelings. My hope is that our new group will also gain the tools they need to lead healthier, happier lives and be able to answer the question “Who Am I”?
Wendy Deluca
Co-facilitator
Outcomes, Inc. is pleased to announce the offering of a new group for teenage girls ages 14-18. This group will be starting September 29th from 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM and will continue for 8 weeks, ending on November 17th. The focus of the group will be to look at common life problems and help girls develop better ways of dealing with them. These problems can range from depression and anxiety to those pesky teachers and parents!
There are a lot of pressures on teens today. We’ve all seen or heard many stories in the news about girls who have succumbed to those pressures and, in some cases, have died as a result. We hope to be able to provide some hope and practical techniques to help girls cope with these pressures, avoiding such negative outcomes.
Wendy DeLuca and I are excited to be able to work with you. We will be doing a lot of fun things as the learning takes place so bring your problems and an open mind. We look forward to starting up on September 29th.
Additional details are on our calendar.
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has begun its move toward all-electronic federal benefit payments. This means that everyone applying for federal benefits will now receive their payments electronically, while anyone currently receiving paper federal benefit checks must switch to electronic payments by March 1, 2013. Paper checks will no longer be an option. People who do not choose an electronic payment option at the time they apply for federal benefits or who do not switch by the deadline will receive their federal benefit payments via the Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card, so they will not experience any interruption in payment
Why Direct Deposit?
Receiving federal benefit payments by direct deposit means senior citizens, people with disabilities, veterans and others can experience significant advantages compared to paper checks, including:
- Safety – No risk of lost or stolen checks.
- Ease – No need to make a special trip to cash or deposit a check.
- Reliability – Payments are on time, every time
- Cost-Savings – Saves taxpayers $120 million each year.
Direct deposit offers you theft protection for your federal benefit payments. Switch from checks to direct deposit today. www.GoDirect.org
Don’t let a criminal take your federal benefit check. Protect your money. Switch to electronic payments today. www.GoDirect.org
Safeguard your federal benefit pmts. Switch from checks to direct deposit or the Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card. www.GoDirect.org
Get federal benefit payments by paper check? You must switch to electronic payments by March 1, 2013. Don’t wait – protect your money from theft and fraud today. www.GoDirect.org
Excerpted from article by Janice Lloyd, USA TODAY, 6/29/11
Whether you are a twentysomething, Gen Xer or Baby Boomer, the older crew has an edge on you, according to new research.
A massive poll looking at American attitudes, health and behaviors concludes that people over age 65 consistently have a higher degree of well-being than any other age group. At the bottom: those 45 to 64.
Even when aches and pains set in and health begins to decline, the older group also is less sad and depressed than any other group, according to the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing index. The findings are based on more than 1 million surveys done since 2008. Healthways works with health-care professionals to help people thrive and to allow officials to track health and wellness by congressional districts.
“Improve well-being, and productivity goes up and health care costs come down,” says Ben Leedle, president of Healthways. “We want to learn from the older generation’s patterns and make those patterns important parts of all of our lives, regardless of the age group.”
If younger people can change, the benefits could be huge, he says. However, if they don’t adopt healthier ways, they are not likely to do as well as these seniors, and they’ll be less well for longer because of longer life expectancies.
Wellness I: Get active
What does wellness look like to Healthways? Multiple behaviors from smiling and laughing to having access to learn new things, and — no surprise here — eating well and getting plenty of exercise. The older group outscored all groups in healthy behaviors, including not smoking.
According to the Healthways research, middle-aged Americans suffer the lowest well-being due in part to higher obesity rates, higher levels of chronic disease — including depression — and more reports of smoking.
Wellness II: Give back
Another key part of the wellness picture among those over 65: better emotional lives. That means volunteering and finding other ways to improve their community. Don’t have time? Leedle believes other age groups have to find time, or health care costs will soar in a country where one in five people will be 65 or older in 2050.
“We find a 40-year-old male working 12-14 hours a day, supporting a family with several kids,” he says. “We tell him to stop and try to incubate the wisdom of our seniors into his life. They need to learn how to weave that into their routines so it becomes part of the chaos that is the middle of our lives.”
Older people make the most of life:
Think you are happy now? Just wait. The best emotional times come later in life, according to the Gallup-Healthways well-being index.
The oldest group outscored the other three age groups in emotions, which was one of six categories measured in a massive study on well-being. Out of a possible score of 100, the 65-and-older age group scored 83. Those 45-64 had the lowest score, 76.
Credit experience, says Kay McCurdy, 72, of Springfield, Va. “You shift your idea of what a good life is into what you can have as a good life,” says McCurdy. “You get realistic. ”
Elisabeth Burnett, 73, says that having a strong emotional life takes a hefty dose of true grit. Burnett has a daughter going through a divorce and has had to bury another grown child, yet she says she looks ahead with hope and joy.
“Today is the gift,” says Burnett. “I think that’s a kind of wisdom that comes with age that I may have had as a young person but I didn’t exercise as much as I do now.” Randy Weadon, 84, says honesty and discipline turned his sad life around. After going into diabetic shock one night and nearly dying, he started walking, lost 50 pounds and eventually got off insulin. He walks 7 miles a day to keep his weight down.
“I’m happier,” says Weadon, also a Greenspring resident. “I have a better opinion of myself, and just all in all I’m a new person.”
FOR A VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY WITH OUTCOMES, INC., CLICK HERE
For the third consecutive year, T. Zane Reeves, board member at Outcomes, Inc is presenting a series of training workshops especially designed for Human Resources (HR) specialists and supervisors. This year Dr. Reeves is joined by various co-presenters who are experts in compensation, employee privacy and confidentiality, team building and mediation. Their emphasis is on building skills that working professionals can apply immediately in the workplace to resolve difficult challenges. These workshops fall within the overall Outcomes’ mission of improving the lives of employees and their families within the framework of Employee Assistance Programs. Call 243-2551 to register for the 2011 Human Resources Workshop Series.