FSG Conducts Senior Survey

Senior AssistanceFamily Service of Glencoe (FSG) is examining ways in which we can better serve the needs of our community’s older residents. Our goal is to identify and respond to concerns facing these residents. Over the past several months, FSG has hosted several focus groups and interviews with Glencoe residents, community leaders, clergy and healthcare service providers.

Currently, FSG is looking for the unique perspective on the needs of senior residents from the adult children or caretakers of this group. We are conducting an anonymous online survey to better understand the attitudes, opinions, and needs of those living in our village age 65 and older and those who care for them.

If you are the adult child of an aging parent or other close relative age 65 or older who lives in Glencoe, please help!

Take the Survey

All responses will be kept strictly confidential and added to a pool of responses from fellow community members. For those who do not have an aging parent or close relative over 65 but know someone who does, please share this information. Your support will greatly assist FSG’s meaningful service to this group.

The survey will be open through Monday, March 7. Thank you for helping to strengthen our community by giving of your time today!

Madeline Levine Returns to Glencoe March 3

Thursday, March 3 at 7pmmadelinel-300x450
Moving the Needle: Parents, Teens, and Resilience
Central School, Misner Auditorium

Family Action Network (FAN) welcomes for the third time clinical psychologist Madeline Levine, Ph.D., the best-selling author of The Price of Privilege and Teach Your Children Well. Dr. Levine is a FAN Advisory Council member, and we have invited her to come and talk about what she feels are the current hot button topics for parents, schools, and kids. She’s been traveling the country for over a decade exhorting communities to follow best practices to raise healthy, fulfilled, compassionate and productive adults. And yet, in her view, the needle has barely moved on the levels anxiety, depression, and dysfunction in teens.

Dr. Levine is currently drafting her third book, examining some of the assumptions about the factors driving the epidemic of emotional problems in kids. She’s curious about why some kids don’t crack under pressure, while others do; why some kids handle academic and social stresses successfully; why some kids are robust where others are fragile. She’s focusing on learned helplessness as the result of parental behavior that causes a child to feel inept and powerless, and the “immaturity creep” – delayed development – that is becoming more common. As she puts it, “We’re treating our children like babies, our teens like children, and our young adults like teens.”

Dr. Levine references the acronym VUCA — Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous — coined by the military to describe the environments in Iraq and Afghanistan. She admires the major structural changes both the military and corporate America have made in response to a VUCA world, and hopes for a similar shift in education and parenting. Collaboration trumps solo efforts; social and emotional intelligence matters more than IQ; horizontal rather than vertical leadership. Come join us for what promises to be a very thought-provoking evening. Dr. Levine is a FAN favorite – a sharp mind with strong views, leavened with true compassion and love for kids, teens, and families.

Sponsored by Family Action Network (FAN), in partnership with Family Service of Glencoe, Glencoe D35, and the Glencoe PTO.

 

Friday, March 4, 11:30am-1pm
Brown Bag Follow-up Discussion
Takiff Center

Join FSG Therapists Julie Pettinato, LCSW and Kathy Livingston, LCSW for an interactive discussion to follow up Madeline Levine’s FAN presentation. Let’s keep the conversation going! For more information, or to rsvp, contact kathy@familyserviceofglencoe.org.

#SevenActsInSevenDays Kindness Challenge

#sevenactssevendays

FSG invites all Glencoe residents and employees to participate in a special kindness challenge February 14-20, 2016 in conjunction with Random Acts of Kindness Week. This initiative, called #SevenActsInSevenDays is all about connecting with others through acts of kindness. There are many ways to reach out to those in our homes, jobs, and communities at little or no cost such as holding a door for someone, giving away your seat on the train, saying hello to a stranger, or thanking someone for a job well done.

Additionally, we are asking community members to be on the lookout for kindness. When you “catch” someone being kind, honor them with a blue heart sticker. Stickers will be available through Family Service of Glencoe, our challenge partners (see below), and participating local businesses.

The Glencoe community is invited to share their stories on social media using #SevenActsInSevenDays.

FSG is taking on this special venture because our 2014 needs assessment survey revealed that 30% of Glencoe respondents feel they lack an adequate social support network and 36% noted that they feel lonely or isolated. “Social interactions help us grow as individuals and develop a supportive social network to help us in life’s challenges,” said Lisa Cardonick, Communications Chair on the FSG Board of Directors. “The kindness challenge is one step in acknowledging, affirming and supporting those around us.”

We are pleased to announce several partners in our kindness challenge: Glencoe School District 35, Glencoe Park District, Glencoe Junior High Project, Glencoe Junior Kindergarten, Glencoe Youth Services, Glencoe Social Club, and Coldwell Banker. Blue heart stickers may be picked up at one of these locations or at participating local businesses with a kindness challenge sign posted.

KindnessChallengeSponsors

Intergenerational Politics

WLCintergenerationalPoliticsFamily Service of Glencoe is hosting a discussion on Intergenerational Politics on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 as part of the Woman’s Library Club of Glencoe (WLC) luncheon program series.

Experienced clinicians Kathy Livingston, LCSW, Joan Merlo, LCSW and Julie Pettinato, LCSW will lead our discussion as we explore strategies for empathy and empowering dynamics between the generations.

Topics will range from grandparenting, empathy, relating to your adult children, transitions and navigating the dynamics between generations.

The noon luncheon with program to follow will be held at Skokie Country Club located at 500 Washington Avenue in Glencoe. Cost for the luncheon is $30. To register for the event, please contact WLC President Maxine Retsky at retskyzoo@me.com.

New Moms Support Group

NewMomsGroupFamily Service of Glencoe (FSG) is adding a new support group to our array of services for parents. Beginning Wednesday, January 27, 2016, FSG will offer a weekly discussion group for new moms. This interactive group will be facilitated by FSG Therapist and Program Director Kathy Livingston, LCSW. The group is designed to help first-time and experienced mothers who have given birth in the last year. Babies are welcome. Topics will be generated by group participants to address real-time concerns.

FSG currently offers 22 parent discussion groups that meet monthly throughout the village in an effort to raise emotionally healthy children. Following this successful format, our clinical services are expanding to support the social-emotional needs of preschool families. We hope to help parents and siblings thrive during the transition of welcoming a new baby into the home and family life. New research also demonstrates the importance of infant mental health including caregiver-infant interactions as well as contextual and cultural influences on infant and family development.

“We are delighted to offer this new parenting group where moms can come and share with one another,” said Kathy Livingston. “Becoming a parent for the first time can be a huge adjustment. Even the addition of a second or third child is a change for the family. We would like to offer a safe, supportive place to encourage one another.”

Discussion groups will be ongoing, meeting weekly on Wednesday mornings 9:30-11am at FSG’s second office located at 361 Park Avenue, Suite 202 (above the Glencoe Roast). There is a one-time enrollment fee of $30 per mother. For more information, please contact Kathy at kathy@familyserviceofglencoe.org or 847-835-5111.

Giving in a Material World

The holidays are once again upon us. Everywhere we turn we are reminded that ‘tis the season to give, give, give. Consumerism is highlighted on every billboard, decorated in every shop window, and flashed on every television commercial. If we are living in a material world, as Madonna so poignantly sang to us, how do we give responsibly in a material world?

HolidayCookiesTogetherness. Tradition. This is what we truly long for. What do you remember most about your childhood holidays? Was it the gifts you received? Or was it the time spent with family and friends? This year, take time to make traditions your family will look forward to each winter. Decorate the house. Bake cookies or find special recipes that you only break out this time of year. Visit a nursing home to sing carols. Have a snow football game in the backyard or a family game night. Take a drive to look at holiday decorations. Invite the neighbors to light candles with your family. Make memories.

Research shows that things do not bring us happiness. Gratitude does. Instead of over-emphasizing the gift-giving aspect of the holidays, choose to focus on the special people in your life. Showing love and appreciation for others does not have to deplete your savings account. Write a heartfelt note of thanks to your child’s teacher or coach. Go out of your way to say thank you to the mail carrier and garbage collector. Bring a plate of cookies to the crossing guard who always makes sure your child arrives home safely. Model gratitude for your children – this will pay off when they catch on that thanking you for your efforts puts a smile on your face, too. Remember: it is not happy people who are thankful, but thankful people who are happy.

It is obviously not reasonable, however, to expect that you will neither give nor receive any gifts. Grandma and Grandpa want to buy their grandchildren presents. Let them! It brings them joy! This year, consider asking relatives to give the gift of their time. Perhaps they could purchase a museum membership for your whole family or tickets to a sporting event or theatre production to experience with the kids. An aunt or uncle could commit to taking the kids on a monthly movie date. Some families choose to make donations to charities in each other’s honor. If you know that your relatives feel compelled to buy your children toys, think about asking your children to collect some items beforehand that they are no longer using to donate to those in need.

Most of all, remember your goals. What do you want to teach your children? It could be a feeling of gratitude, the importance of family time, service to others, or simply the joy of giving another person a carefully selected heartfelt gift. There are many ways to give. Choose the ones that best suit you and your family. Happy holidays!

Glencoe Community Holiday Drive

Volunteers are hard at work on this year’s Glencoe Community Holiday Drive. This program is a great way to get the whole family involved.GlencoeCommunityHolidayDrive

  • Toy Drive – Donate new unwrapped toys to collection boxes at Village Hall or the Takiff Center.
  • Food Drive – Donate non-perishable food items or paper goods to collection boxes at Village Hall or the Takiff Center or purchase at Grand Foods on collection days.
  • Care Package – Purchase a care package at Grand Foods for low-income seniors and disabled adults.
  • Giving Tree – Donate funds or gift cards by depositing into the white Village mailbox, make checks payable to Village of Glencoe and write Holiday Drive in the memo.
  • Adopt a Family – Email glencoecommunityholidaydrive@gmail.com to adopt a family
  • Volunteer – Help collect, wrap, sort or deliver gifts by joining the Glencoe Community Holiday Drive Committee.

Donations will be accepted until Friday, December 11, 2015. Email glencoecommunityholidaydrive@gmail.com for more information.

FSG Joined the Blue Cross Blue Shield Network

bcbs-logoFamily Service of Glencoe supports clients by submitting insurance for counseling services on their behalf. Our agency has recently become an in-network PPO provider through Blue Cross Blue Shield. We hope that this will allow more individuals and families to access treatment affordably. For all other insurances, we will continue to submit billing as an out-of-network provider.

For additional information about billing, please email our business manager at alicja@familyserviceofglencoe.org

Read the Fall Glencoe Quarterly

GQFall2015CoverThe Glencoe Quarterly is filled with news and happenings in our village. The fall issue features FSG staff on the cover and includes interesting articles about family relationships, National Recovery month, a spotlight on staff therapist Julie Pettinato, LCSW, and details about the new Rainbows group. Happy reading!

Join the Voices for Recovery

2015-recovery-month-rectangle-web-bannerSeptember is National Recovery Month. Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that approximately 21.6 million people age 12 or older were classified with a substance dependence or misuse disorder. Seeking help can be challenging, especially when people fear discrimination and often feel isolated and alone.

FSG believes that recovery is possible. Let’s stand with our family members, friends and neighbors who are struggling with addiction so they become aware that they are not alone in their efforts. The right support system can help ensure that those in need are addressing the following four key aspects of recovery.

  • Health: The person learns to overcome or manage his or her condition(s) or symptom(s)—and make informed, healthy choices that support physical and emotional well-being.
  • Home: It is also important to have a stable and safe place to live.
  • Purpose: A person in recovery participates in meaningful daily activities, such as a job, school, volunteer opportunities, family caretaking, or creative endeavors, and has the independence, income, and resources to participate in society.
  • Community: Relationships and social networks should provide support, friendship, love, and hope.

A new SMART Recovery group is forming  in Glencoe. The group has no labels and can help with any addictive behavior that one would like to see changed. For more information about SMART Recovery or individual/family counseling, please email Julie at Julie@familyserviceofglencoe.org.