Great Resources in CT and online talks: Local Libraries, Faith Groups, Public Forums such as SalisburyForum.org

 I was happy to get The Night Owl newsletter from the NorfolkLibrary.org as well as one from the huntlibrary.org of Falls Village CT and scovillelibrary.org of Salisbury CT in my email.I stop by the Sheffield  and Millerton Libraries and the in the bigger towns of Great Barrington and Torrington as well. All wonderful! In Great Barringto there are CHP, Community Health Programs which are great too and offer programs throughout the area. Those are open to visitors as are most at NECC, North East Community Center in Millerton and The Audubon Center in Sharon CT! The Sharon Hotchkiss Library is under renovation but they have a makeshift set up at the VFW on Route 361 right by the Sharon Firehose (which has nice pancake breakfasts monthly, with take out.)

When you sign up for the newsletters, many events online and in person (maybe) are listed for you to sign up for, tell others about and learn something more about what's going on out there in the Big World (and online.)

That takes a lot of forethought, planning and follow-through on their part, and a little something from those attending.

Many people donate time, talent and treasure to keep libraries up and running, so try to get one's local schools connected and help more benefit whether students, parents or others in the community.

There may be some programs in person that are limited in size or scope, such as story hours 'for those with a child only' but ideally more adults could sign up to assist or join in and share in an array of programs to assist the youth, parents and others visiting (grandparents or nannies or guests) who may find it helpful to network in a forum along those lines before or after the program.

Joining in listening to a story, singing a song and maybe even sharing an idea along the way could be a helpful way to prompt people to connect in reasonable ways in public settings. For more ideas along these lines, see Turtle Garden Permaculture Game and Turtle Garden Circle of Friends (TGCOF.)

Perhaps taking a nature walk (looking up in trees and the sky, down at the ground, near puddles and gardens and all around, horizons and various settings) can be a way to help people feel connected to walking gently on the earth and letting her (yes the earth, nature and other people) speak to them.

Allowing the right brain to see the art and hear sounds in life as well as the left brain to make sense of things can be a way to balance one's life experiences and not try to 'explain it all down to the last letter.'

Allowing the flow of life like a pleasnt healthy river to include more people and places in balanced ways can be a secret way to stay calm amidst a lof ot activity and even chaos. Breathing, sharing in conversations, allowing for pauses and echoing back what someone says with a bit of a summary and even a question to see if that is what they were meaning can be another kind of 'walk through life with others' not passing them by.

It can be challenging if someone wants to explore insights and ideas and there's no time or way to share, but that's where writing, drawing and calling a friend or person who is available can come in handy. Making teams to have casual check-ins is a plus.

Then if someone has a pressing concern or need, others could be tapped to see if there are ten minutes or more to think on one part of the situation or another.

Many skilled people may have checklists and game plans to try if the people are interested to save time. Then they can fine tune and map out time lines to help figure out next options and steps, more team players and so on.

Thanks for considering these ideas and hopefully each school and town has ways to do friendly outreach and have timely response folks.

Most social workers need to be contacted directly as do domestic violence counselors (see what 211.org has to offer or call 2-1-1 if in need, but know that if children or others are at risk such as elders or disabled people, urgent measures may be taken to intervene if danger or difficulty is present.)

The systems need to have more transparency if possible and of course even calling the police for a consult or need for help may bring unexpected results, so best to do some research and have ways to stay safe or get to a person or place who can help one plan accordingly.

Thanks for checking in with one other person daily and seeing if your local networks are tuning into these kinds of issues. Chances are they really aren't but explore more on my this Livfully.org for resources such as DuluthModel.org which may be helpful for starters to promote community safety standards and intervention ideas.