Thinking of How to Help Mothers and Children, Yes Fathers and Others too in MA/NY CT corner area and beyond

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After posting on the Northwest Corner Chatter of CT FB page about a mom needing help with per diem childcare and to catch up on rent (and yes, the wider community could help with rent if interested..just email thinkingkapp@gmail.com and we'll chat up some ideas. The Berkshire Taconic Foundation sometimes can grant some help with rent if a social worker from the service area (the tri-corner area for various funds, well worth a look as is the Torrington Foundation  for Giving). I hope we all could look over Your Money or Your Life to get insights on planning one's life and really helping younger people. those with less life experience in any field (even learning computers which plenty of people still need help with, and even cell phones, paying bills and so on)

There are groups called Walking Our Talk (WOT) in the Great Barrington MA area  that meet for 8 weeks, once a week for two hours, to promote people, mostly women helping women, feel connected and supported in their efforts whether personal or professional. Maia Conty and Mary Campbell, both respected in their fields, along with others run the groups. After a couple of years a nice network has been established.

There are programs such as CHP Community Health Programs run out a lovely space past KMart, on the right which is open to Ct and NY folks too (like the NECC in Millerton, check their page.) Does anyone feel our CT part of the MA/NY CT tricorner area could use Something Along These Lines or should we farm our parents and folks in need out to other states as a default for the longterm? My concern is that we don't really have many people interested and directed toward helping one another in meaningful ways, we don't have the funding or the vision to help parents from the get-go (and yes that means all caregivers whether grandparents, relatives, friends or others even helping in schools, etc).

If it is not clear what support there is for young families why should they choose to stay here in CT> When the pickings are slim even in a place like GB which has a far greater population (but which also is seeing great declines in their school numbers even as the second homeowner sector booms and builds and hotels pop up for tourism..). We need to think of ourselves as part of the larger town efforts whether Barrington (and even Pittsfield with their 1Berkshire mindset) or Torrington or even Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County. We are like a belly button needing protection and nurturing to survive.

Not the wealthiest one percen or top ten percent etc but the average Joes and Jills..how will we manage in these hills to keep out towns on the map? MA has headed toward regionalization on growing levels, including more administrative sharing. I realize we have law in CT that say we have to keep school rates high even with declining populations. That means we should Increase Our Population to get the benefit of what taxes pay for and even to keep people in the area.

There is a lot of natural appeal and places like the Audubon in Sharon that more people could factor into one of their very own resources in their own back yard. Same with state parks and with caution of course and plans people actually follow to not allow minors (or others even) to go near the river or in it alone, as without life vests on and skilled sober adults supervising when the levels and such are decent and BOTH PARENTS give consent, not unlike is required for Scouting Outings.

The Towns and States Should set these Common Sense Voluntary Standards...Whose for that today rather than after another set of tragedies. People need to be warned about unsafe areas and 'no swimming allowed spots' which are the liability of towns to post one lifeguard told me. We simply don't do what needs to be done because it's no one's job to check or say things like this. Feel free to chime in with some of your wisdom even on a personal message or on www.livfully.drupalgardens.com which over 60K have looked at. Many good ideas are needed across the country on many levels.

The more small group efforts people are part of the more empowered they feel to share ideas and actually try them. The liability issues have changed things a lot to the point much of the living people did back in the day is no longer legal and often can be reported or taken to court to have huge consequences if not a circus of hoops to jump through (at high costs mounting to tens of thousands of dollars..so maybe more legal insurance could be offered much like life insurance. I think I've heard of something but again, those in need likely couldn't affort it.

The planning to AVOID a Downward Spiral is needed across the board from health care, living and even relationship status--and caution about getting legally married if you don't have a good prenup to not take each other down financially or withhold children from protective moms which statistically and onwww.barrygoldstein.net needs to be better promoted as the safest plan for most people and society to accept.

Even officers responding to DV are at great risk for being killed and that motivated laws to not allow DV perps to own guns. Funding was taken from CDC and others in the 1990s to study and map gun violence. See the Mother Earth News coverage of Dec 1015 or so about this and the editor gave a talk on www.npr.org which more need to review online or listen to as part of a national dialogure. Public education is a misnomer because it only addresses schooling for youth. No adults are educated with some 'basics to know at this time in life as someone of a certain age or situation'.

That kind of guidance could be offered voluntarily. The internet is a great resource but not tapped enough by groups of people to implement good ideas. Some know and keep things afloat, but others do not and cause leaks. It's not a matter of money only or of being the biggest consumers. That is part of the problem we need to reverse for the greater good. We need to slow down and ease up on consumption. But like sugar addictions, or drug addictions of other kinds, it ain't easy to just stop. (Your welcome)