Ten years ago this month, I was wrapping up my senior year of college: turning in my thesis, saying goodbye to good friends… and realizing that I probably should have started applying for jobs back in January.
I got lucky. Through a connection made the previous summer, a dream job fell into my lap. 2012’s newly minted college graduates might not be so lucky – a recently released study says that half of recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. It’s tough, reading statistics like that, to wax poetic about the importance of a college education – and yet, that’s exactly what I’m about to do.
This week, the 14th Street Y hosts an arts & culture festival for LABA: the National Laboratory for New Jewish Culture, a program through which classical Jewish texts are used to inspire original, contemporary art and thought. Among many fantastic works, the festival will feature a site-specific video projection by artist Anita Glesta called “Watershed” (pictured above.) As explained on the festival’s website: “The river of frenzied fish presents a metaphor for our survival within the ecosystem of our planet and a forum to think about our city in a global context.” Be sure to stop by the Y this week for much more!
As a therapist working in schools, clinics and after-school programs, I frequently run up against the barrier of stigma. All too often, a child or adolescent is struggling with emotional and behavioral problems that could be addressed through counseling. However, when the possibility of therapy is broached, the responses come fast and furious:
-Therapy is only for people with serious mental problems.
-Therapy means you’re “psycho.”
-Therapy means you’ll be labeled and discriminated against for the rest of your life.
-Being in therapy means you’ll have to take medication forever and be a zombie.
-You don’t need therapy; you need to stop being lazy/pay attention/get a job/grow up.
Our latest round-up of links and articles features a number of issues that are very important to the Educational Alliance, our clients and staff: saving child care and after school programs for low-income families; the growing homeless population in New York City (and how we can help); and the experience of becoming a new parent. Hope you enjoy them!
With summer just around the corner, I’m reminded of the fact that warmer weather is a trigger for those whom are afflicted with addiction. The Addiction Journal reports that “the number of cocaine-related overdose deaths continue to rise as temperatures continued to climb.” At Project Contact, we do see clients who struggle with cocaine dependence, especially in the spring and summer. Where there is cocaine, there is typically also alcohol and most clients are in denial about their alcohol consumption.
As students across the nation prepare to graduate this spring, we’re also reminded of the fact that many students don’t make it to graduation day. In fact, 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the U.S every year. This month, we’re highlighting the importance of higher education as our cause of the month. Through our programs like College Prep for teens and College Access for parents, we help people of all ages achieve their college dreams. Stay tuned for their stories!
After celebrating Volunteer Appreciation Week last year, I’d like to highlight yet another one of our amazing and dedicated volunteers. Lori Blatstein volunteers as a classroom volunteer twice a week in one of our Head Start classrooms. The value that Lori brings to the classroom was recently expressed by Rita, the teacher in the classroom where Lori volunteers: “We are very grateful to have Lori in our classroom. She is a wonderful person, who is very caring and nurturing and as a mom, everything is instinctive for her.” Lori’s own words offer additional insight into how meaningful volunteering can be:
Did you know that over 47,000 children in New York City could lose access to child care and after-school programs next year? Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed budget includes major cuts to these services — including a 62% reduction in Out of School Time (OST) after-school programs in Manhattan. As a provider of these crucial programs, we support the Campaign for Children to help raise awareness of these devastating cuts.
Want to help? Take 5 minutes and send a note to Mayor Bloomberg through this simple online form. Thanks for your support!
We love the spring time weather here at PS 140! A perfect way to celebrate the new season is to learn about our environment. Earth Day is this Sunday, April 22nd and we will be celebrating on Monday, April 23rd. A great game we play – that combines fun and learning about keeping our Earth clean – is Recycling Relay. Here’s how it works…
We haven’t rounded up a bunch of “links we love” in awhile, and this week we’re pleased to share some good ones. From the proposed cuts to childcare programs across NYC, to ideas for teachers who want to incorporate Earth Day into their lesson plans, and much more!
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