I wanted to write a short post on this subject because of the seriousness. I was talking to a police officer and I asked him what are the chances of a meth addict to come clean. He stated that statistically 10 % chance. Meth destroys families, friends and even brothers and sisters. It not only rots away the body but it destroys the soul. What is the answer to the problem? I don’t know what it is. Meth can be made out of so many household products, for instance: rat poison, bleach,sudafed and sometimes whatever they can get their hands on. I think laws should be stricter on these addicts because they loose their hope and dignity. They loose their will to live. God is our master and Lord not anything on this earth. We all need to pray hard for families that are suffering because of this addiction. Pray and hope for the children who are in these homes at the time of drug use. This drug can enter any home no one is excluded. Pray, watch and do not let your guard down parents. God Bless
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
To help homeless, first accurately count them
“I felt compelled to post this article from May 2009. It spells out the ones forgotten when you think of homelessness, the children. If this is true in one county in Florida, what is it like where you live? What can you do about it?” John Shelton – Editor
Published Saturday, May 2, 2009
A single mother of three rents a garage from another single mother of three living temporarily in a foreclosed home belonging to a third party. The house dweller fails to use the first woman’s rent payment for the utility bill as promised and everyone is scrambling for new shelter.
It’s an actual case in west Pasco with social workers now trying to assist the woman who made her rent payments in good faith. So here’s a question: Are the kids considered homeless? Depends upon whom you ask.
A recently completed homeless count in Pasco County would say “no” because the youngsters had a roof over their heads on the day of the survey. Yet, the federal guidelines for serving homeless children in the public school district says “yes” because the families are doubled up in a makeshift living arrangement due to economic hardship.
Therein lies one of the problems confronting advocates, social services agencies and churches serving the homeless: counting heads. Successful passage of HB 597 in the Florida Legislature on Friday is an attempt to change that. Among the provisions of the bill is creation of a single definition of homeless to include people and families living in doubled-up homes or in motels.
The just-released results of the Pasco coalitions’s count illustrates the problematic definitions. On Jan. 28, volunteers calculated 4,527 people in Pasco were homeless, an 11 percent increase over a year ago. But the same survey identified just 4 percent, or 181 people, as children. The state average is 21 percent and last year’s Pasco survey calculated that 1,400 children in Pasco, or 35 percent of the total count, had no place to call home.
All indications are the number of children was undercounted this year. Pasco School District social workers report helping more than 1,800 homeless children with enrollment this school year, including providing assistance obtaining supplies, clothing and transportation. Many of the children reside in doubled-up households or in motels.
Extrapolation of the district numbers with the Jan. 28 single-day count would push the county’s homeless population to more than 6,100 people, or a nearly 50 percent increase over a year ago. It’s an eye-opening jump attributable to a recession, high unemployment and increasing foreclosures. Nearly two-thirds of Pasco’s 5,000 foreclosure cases involved primary residences.
Why does it matter? Because the community, as it maps a 10-year plan to assist the homeless, needs an accurate accounting of the far-reaching problem. Too often the public perception of Pasco’s homeless is defined by a rousted encampment in the woods or a panhandler seeking beer money on a street corner. Children are an afterthought.
Ignoring the problem is unrealistic. It’s too expensive and results in higher hospitalization and public safety costs to the public and diminished educational opportunities for children. Multiple studies show the annual cost of feeding, incarcerating and proving health care to a chronically homeless person is tens of thousands of dollars higher than a comprehensive assistance program. Just think of the public safety costs accumulated this week when Pasco deputies evicted a homeless encampment from private property in Hudson and investigated a stabbing involving a homeless suspect in Land O’Lakes.
While advocates continue devising the 10-year plan for homeless intervention, one church in Holiday isn’t waiting for the written document. The Community United Methodist Church, where the Rev. Dan Campbell doubles as pastor and president of the Homeless Coalition of Pasco, is closing in June. It will reopen as a Joining Hands Community Mission Inc., a one-stop resource center and shelter to help homeless families with public assistance, employment searches and other tasks.
It’s a commendable mission. The unprecedented and much-needed community effort in west Pasco will allow people to progress from an emergency shelter to transitional housing to a permanent home — the true aim of any homeless program.
A whirlwind long weekend
This post will have to get broken up into parts. So consider this part one.
We went on a LONG weekend to see my brother and his family in Virginia Beach. It’s about a 7 hour ride from our house. We were supposed to leave early Friday morning. But with the warnings of Hurricane Bill, we left unexpectedly on Thursday night so we could still enjoy Friday at the beach. We thought we could drive through the night and arrive around 2am. We couldn’t make it. We gave up at 11pm and found a hotel in Eastern Maryland, near the Virginia border.
Have you noticed that vacationing with young children is really not a vacation for you? It’s so much work! And you’d think they’d be exhausted at 11pm. We walked into the hotel/motel lobby, and you would have thought they walked right into Magic Kingdom. They were laying on the couches in the lobby, yelling because they thought the echo effect was cool, and running to and from the sliding glass doors. We were so mortified, but we couldn’t calm them down!! I’m sure the receptionist was disappointed that she gave the 3rd to last room to us.
As soon as S realized that we were going right to sleep, she got whiny and teary. For about a 1/2 hr, in the dark, I could hear her telling my husband, “Daddy, I’m ready to go. I don’t need sleep.” And each time she did, M would sit up, blow S a kiss, and said, “Feel better. I’ll go, too.” As if they could just leave the 2 of them and hit the road. Trust me, I loved the idea when I was dead tired and just wanted to go to sleep. But there was no way that was happening. I fell asleep before anyone else. When I woke up briefly at 12:45am, the room was quiet. Everyone had fallen asleep.
At 6:45am, I felt breathing on my face. M was staring at me, not saying a word, but breathing on me. Kind of creepy yet sweet. By 7:30ish, we were back on the road, with S in tears saying she wanted to stay at the hotel (I’ve decided, I just can’t win with her on trips. I do my best to ignore it all, but it really grates on me when I’m tired, too).
We got to VA Beach by 10am. We literally dropped our thing in the house, got into our bathing suits, and went straight to the beach. It was awesome! A beautiful day, with a slight breeze, the waves were a little rougher than I would have liked. Bill was coming in, and I knew the waves were going to be CRAZY! It was so different than any of our other beach trips the last couple of years. So many surfers were way out. We could see dolphins out by them. I hear in the evenings, the sharks come out there, too! S and M couldn’t get enough of watching their older cousins boogie boarding. Together in the sand, they were digging huge sandpits, with bridges and tunnels connecting them. S pretty much stayed in the water the whole time. M started out that way, but got washed to shore by a couple of big waves. One of them knocked her right into the knee of a man who was trying to catch her and get out of her way. That sort of did her in for the rest of the day.
I get this feeling every time I see my girls with their cousins, from either of my brothers’ families. The cousins are older, both sets 10 and 8. Yet, they are so sweet to my girls. This family we saw have 2 boys. They totally take care of them. They couldn’t be more boy boys, and my girls, girly girls in comparison. But my kids have so much love and adoration for their boy cousins, and they have so much love and tenderness to my kids. It’s extremely sweet. We see each pair once a year if we are lucky. It’s just so hard to get down to VA or to IL. Each time we get ready to leave, I wish they had more opportunities to build that relationship. I never really got to see my cousins since most of them lived in another country. As a child, I felt that I really missed out. I had hoped that wouldn’t happen to my kids, too.
From the beach, we went back to their house, and straight into their pool. Watching them swim around so well, S found the confidence again to ditch her little bubble and swim around the pool without any flotation device. She was jumping off the diving board with them, having the time of her life. M wanted to get rid of hers, too. Not an option, but she gave it a whirl. She was okay where she could touch until she went into the deep end. My husband jumped to get her. She came up with her arms around him, grinning ear to ear, saying, “You saved me, Daddy.” We all had to roll our eyes. Will she ever learn her lesson?
We all went bowling together, too. S, for the first time, really got into it. She figured out when it was her turn, and did her little umph push to her ball. It took what seemed like an eternity for the ball to knock down the pins, but she was having so much fun with her cousins. M broke out into a dance when she knocked down her pins, yelling, “I won I won”. I last took them bowling about 4 months ago, and after the first 4 frames, they both just wanted to go home. This was the first time we found shoes in M’s size. She was ecstatic!! It takes so little sometimes to make them happy.
They didn’t want to leave. S cried on and off for about an hour on the drive back north, saying she wanted to stay with her cousins. Sweet and sad. More next time…And there is most definitely more!
Monday, August 24, 2009
CIS of Lee County - CIS crushes fundraising goal with "Dancing' event
CIS crushes fundraising goal with “Dancing’ event
By ERIN ZUREICK
ezureick@sanfordherald.com
Aug 23,2009
SANFORD — It had been about 30 years since Wing Man Tam last danced, but that didn’t stop him from signing up this summer for Dancing with the Lee County Stars — and it didn’t stop him and partner Karla Koballa from winning the competition’s coveted mirror ball trophy.
“I really enjoyed it,” Tam said after collecting his prize for a shag routine. “It shows how much the community comes together. I played a very small part.”
The event, hosted by Communities in Schools of Lee County at the Dennis Wicker Civic Center, sold out all 700 of its tickets. It was patterned after ABC’s hit television show, “Dancing with the Stars,” which pairs celebrity couples with trained dancers for a competition.
The winner among 15 Lee County couples was determined by total fundraising. Tam and Koballa netted about $7,500.
CIS raised nearly $58,000 total, an important sum since the organization was close to closing its doors earlier this year. The nonprofit raises money for education programs such as BackPack Pals, e-mentoring, LEGO robotics and a teacher resource room.
“When we started this, we had to decide whether to do a fundraiser this year or shut our doors,” CIS Board of Directors Chairwoman Kim Pritt told the audience. “Thanks to you we are able to stay open another year. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
Tickets were purchased for $50 in advance, and buyers could designate then who their votes would go to. Votes also could be bought for $10 each at the event.
Some contestants were not beyond a little gamesmanship to try and get audience members to reach into their pockets.
After performing an upbeat number to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” Central Carolina Community College instructor Carl Bryan and Kelly’s Dance teacher Dana Slate were challenged for $200 to dance on a table.
The two were also the only pair of the night to garner a perfect score of 30, with a 10 from each judge. They also won the night’s artistic prize and came in fourth for fundraising.
“I’m was ecstatic,” Slate said afterward. “We had a lot of fun together.”
Bryan said the two only practiced four times.
“She could teach a rock to dance,” he said. “There was a good chemistry and a good click throughout the whole thing.”
Miss North Carolina 2009 Katherine Southard also participated with Liberty University student Matt LaSasso. Earlier in the day, she toured Central Carolina Hospital.
A dance major in college, Southard said the two practiced their tango three times. She added she enjoys getting to tour the state doing charitable work.
“I love it. I really do,” she said. “To get to do benefits like this all year long is really wonderful.”
Second-place overall winners were Dana Atkins, of DWA Photography, and Gregg Hamm, owner of Cafe 121 and Lee County Schools teacher.
Third-place was Toni Davenport, of J.T. Davenport and Sons, and David Morse, of Sports World.
Koballa said she and Tam practiced about twice a week. She has been shagging for 14 years.
“I’m just thrilled,” Koballa said. “Wing Man is popular. People love him. He is very personable.”
CIS Program Coordinator Laura Biediger said she was happy with how the fundraiser turned out.
“I thought I would feel really tired right now, but I’m running on adrenaline,” she said.
How Can I Get My Child to Get More Active?
By Dr. Robyn Silverman
Dear Dr. Robyn,
We have 3 children (ages 11, 7, and 4)– and only 1 of them is really into sports. I worry that the others are going to become very unhealthy because the activities they choose to do typically don’t require them to do much physical activity. I worry about their weight, their health…everything. I don’t want to harp on them because I don’t want to make them hate getting active or make them think that I think they’re fat or they’re going to get fat (1 of them is a girl). Please give me some suggestions on how I can help them to get more active! —Lisa M., Durham, NC
Dear Lisa,
Thank you for your question–
There’s so much talk about body issues these days—on the one hand, we’re dealing with what is being labeled “an obesity epidemic” and on the other hand, we’re dealing with more and more children with body image issues (both boys and girls ), eating disorders, and challenges with food. On top of that, more children are becoming lethargic and leading sedentary lifestyles —perhaps a function of new and fun technologies as much as more homework, more parents at work during the after school hours, and less “active time” during school hours due to budget cuts.
Interestingly, as children get older, their activity level drops dramatically. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health:
- Ages 9-11 years old: More than 90% of the children evaluated met the recommended level of 60 minutes of more of MVPA per day.
- Age 15: Only 31% met the recommended level of MVPA per weekday and only 17% met the recommended activity level on weekends.
Many of you who are reading this blog, like Lisa, are parents who are interested in getting their children active from a very young age. There are many studies that show us that children who are active have fewer problems with weight and body image. So how can we get our kids to love being active?
(1) Play with them: Children learn by what they see. If their parents are sitting on the sidelines, they are more likely to do so too. Get involved—bike ride with your kids—play hopscotch, jump-rope, and play ball in the back yard. Join activities with them. There are plenty of fun things you can do together! Try martial arts where family programs are prominent—or swimming programs that allow you to get in the pool with your kids. Get in touch with a Powerful Words Member School- so many of them have family programs! By getting involved in an “active way” you relay “this is important—not just for you to do, but for the family.”
(2) Get messy and dirty: If children are always afraid to get their clothes dirty, they are less likely to get active. Make sure that their play clothes are exactly that—for play. And don’t be afraid to get dirty with them! Run around—roll around—splash in puddles and get sweaty! It’s fun and your kids will enjoy, well, being kids! And don’t make the mistake that only boys should get messy—girls should too. We never want our girls to think that they can’t be as active, powerful, and strong as the boys. These sentiments get transferred to girls easily—so be sure that you are saying something empowering rather than destructive.
(3) Make the time: There are so many things to do in the day—school, homework, piano practice, family time—that it’s often difficult to make time to get active. But getting active isn’t something that should be negotiable or expendable. We need to make the time for it. Children should be active for at least an hour per day! If they don’t like competitive sports, there are plenty of other activities that will get them moving—martial arts, gymnastics, dancing and swimming are all great ways to get active without necessarily getting competitive.
(4) Let them know that you’re proud: Whether they win, lose, have a tough day, or a great day, let them know you’re proud of the way they get out there and take responsibility for keeping their bodies healthy. If we are constantly being judged on how well we did when we were active, we may be less apt to get active! Praise effort over outcome—and determination over trophies and you will be helping your child learn to love activity.
(5) Help them to set goals: It’s fun to achieve. We achieve by setting appropriate goals for ourselves and then going after them! Be warned though—make sure these are YOUR CHILD’S GOALS—not yours. And be sure that these goals are not “in comparison to” a sibling, friend, or other peers. Make your child’s physical goals something that is right for him or her—and that is completely about him or her and nobody else. This is not “the biggest loser” or “Survivor.” Your child should not get “kicked off the island” if s/he isn’t as strong, fast, or successful as anyone else.
(6) Get them active inside too: While so many technologies are linked to sitting on the couch, there are also technologies that can get kids moving. The Wii Fit and Dance Revolution are great ways to get active while inside on a rainy day– or just a day that the kids want to play with some neat technology. In fact, these games that are now being used as a source of fitness in gym classes. Studies are beginning to show that they “make a very positive contribution to players’ stress management, weight management, fitness and health.”
(7) Be innovative: Don’t love sports but love science? Go on nature walks! Prefers to history over hopscotch? Go walk the museums. Think outside the box. Sports aren’t the only way to get physical. Children can get active by gardening, dancing, jump-roping, building and painting outside. Go on camping trips or boating excursions. Splash in the rain. And again– all sports aren’t competitive with big crowds. Your child might be more interested in individual activities and sports where they can work at their own pace and make their own personal goals. Moving the body feels good– it’s just a matter of finding out what your child loves best.
(6) Don’t tie it to weight: It would be easy to do so—after all, weight is a huge issue these days. But when we tie physical activity to “exercise” and “losing weight” we make it seem like work—or punishment. That’s no fun! Children can be physically active at any size—so praise them for getting out there no matter what the scale says.
In the end, we all want our children to get active to be healthy. Our bodies need physical activity for the health of our cardio-vascular system, our muscles, our brains, and our souls. It feels good to get active. Let’s teach our children young to love getting up off the couch and moving around. It will serve them well…for the rest of their lives.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sarcasm Jar
This is a cross-post from another blog I”m writing (??) at www.ptotoday.com. Stealing from myself, hmmm.
I know very well that children learn by example, but there are some times I would rather not be reminded of it.
When my sons were locked firmly in pre-adolescence, I noticed certain words creeping into their vocabulary I didn’t want to hear. Where did they get that stuff? They would say the words then look at me to see how I reacted. I said I didn’t like that language, and they shouldn’t use it in public places, even if the public place was camped in front of the television watching a movie in which the actors used the language I was objecting to.
It went on. It was a test of my authority. It lowered the level of discourse.
Civilization was at stake.
So I introduced the age-old institution of the potty-mouth jar. Or swear jar. You know what I mean – a jar in the kitchen that someone puts money in every time they break the rule. “It will cost you a quarter every time you use one of those words,” I said.
My children immediately made me define exactly which words I meant. “You know what I mean,” I said.
It was shortly after that that I made a startling discovery.
I didn’t realize I used those words, and when I did, I thought I was using those words only in the privacy of my own personal universe. Replacing plumbing fixtures, for instance – you would think that would be a private experience.
Not when you yell really loudly.
Or when I got cut off in traffic.
Or waited on the phone for forty minutes to talk to someone at the Deparment of Motor Vehicles.
“Twenty-five cents, Dad,” my children gleefully announced.
“#%@!!!!#!” I said.
When I realized who was putting the most money in the jar, I cleaned up my act, declared victory, and retreated.
“No more swear jar,” I announced. “You’ve learned your lesson.”
And we all behaved reasonably well until they reached adolescence. Suddenly, it wasn’t language, it was attitude. Somewhere on their way to adulthood, my boys had become the most sarcastic beings on the face of the earth. Nothing escaped their cynical comments.
So I got a glass gallon jar and wrote on its side “Sarcasm Jar – 25 cents”
I introduced it at dinnertime.
“This will stop your sarcasm,” I said. “I’m serious. Every time someone’s sarcastic, they owe a quarter.”
“Dad,” my older son said, sincerity plastered across his face, “we’re not sarcastic.”
“Yeah, right,” I said.
“Twenty-five cents, Dad!” my younger son.
“That’s not fair!” I said. “You’re trying to make me sarcastic.”
“Dad, we would never do that,” the younger one said.
“Oh, sure!” I said.
“Twenty-five cents more!” the older one said.
“Like I’m going to pay,” I said.
“More!” they shrieked.
They were both in hysterics.
“Forget the sarcasm jar,” I said. “I hope you learned your lesson.”
“We learned from the best, Dad,” they both said.
Like I said, there’s some things of which I don’t want to be reminded. Like that my sons are smarter than me.
Curled Up with a Family Story:A Review of “Momma. Where Are You From?” by Marie Bradby
Title: “Momma, Where Are You From?”
Genre: Children’s (Ages 5-12), Afro-American Fiction
Author: Marie Bradby
Illustrator: Chris K. Soentpiet
Publisher: Orchard Books, New York: New York. 2000.
“We can travel roads in my memory…”
I absolutely love “Momma, Where Are You From?”. This book gives life and color to Black history, its rich traditions in American life and beckons the reader to remember their own stories…and pass them down.
“Momma. Where Are You From?” is not read like a book—it quickly envelopes you until you forget the pages beneath your fingers, and feel like you are curled up on “Momma’s” lap, hearing the family stories. Momma’s stories circle the events of her life—growing up in a small town, shelling beans for dinner, facing discrimination during the Jim Crow era, and finally sitting on the porch with her daughter, sharing memories.
Combined with the stories, the illustrations are beautiful, no detail is missed; each picture in itself imparts a story. There is history within these pictures—the segregated schoolhouse, the children doing domestic labor to help make ends meet, the family gathering to listen to music and share a meal. These are stories we can all relate to—the wondering “Where are you from?” and how the answer inevitably connects the past to the paths of our own lives.
I highly recommend “Momma, Where Are You From?” It is a dignified testament to Black history and also a vivid portrayal of the struggles, joys and faces of family.
Lynn Mari, 2009.
Chirs Soentpiet: “Momma, Where Are You From?” Include Activities to do with your children when reading this book.