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Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

Taught Me the Difference Between Empowerment and Strength – The Mary Sue

Posted: March 7, 2017 at 10:10 pm

Editors note: This articleoriginally appeared on ThePortalist.com, and is reposted here with permission.

In 1992, Sailor Moondebuted on Japanese television. Today, the show stands as a classic among shoujo anime. Its themes of friendship, true love, and compassion ring true through the decades, and with a few exceptions, its characters encouraged and inspiredyoung women in the East and West alike.Sailor Moon also succeeded in presenting alternative versions of empowerment that didnt rely on physicalstrength; the show reminded viewers that all people have weaknesses, and instead of shaming ourselves and others for this flaw, we should celebrate it and support one another.

This message has personal significance for me, as I figuredout my own transfeminine identity around the time I became a Sailor Moon fan. Seeing not just a heroic weak protagonist, but a team of girls who were allowed to fail and be insecure, helped me process theemotions that accompaniedmy transition. Below are fivetimes Sailor Moonprovided memorable lessons about vulnerability that apply to my own lifeand maybe to yours, too.

1. Sometimes Your Greatest Weakness Can Also Be Your Greatest Strength

Throughout the first season of Sailor Moon, Usagis perceived cowardice and lack of fighting skill make her the target of frequent jabs from other characters, mostly Luna and Rei. But this is because they dont understand where Usagis real power as Sailor Moon comes from; shes good at bringing people together, not hurting peopleespecially not Tuxedo Mask/Endymion/Mamoru, her destined moon lover.

Because of her championing oflove over violence, Usagi ultimately saves Mamorus soul from corruption by playing the shows theme song for him (yes, seriously) in episode 46: Usagis Eternal Wish: A Brand New Life.Thus restored, Mamoru saves Usagi from Queen Beryls subsequent attack, sacrificing his own life in the process. Usagis greatest weaknessesher inability to fight, coupled with her love for Mamoruturn out to be her greatest assets.

2. Empowerment Doesnt Mean Denying Your True Self

Having dreamt frequently of Usagis death and the destruction of Earth immediately after their wedding, Mamoru dumps Usagi without warning in episode 61: Usagi Devastated! Mamoru Declares a Breakup. When the two meet later to fight a hench-monster, Usagi demands an explanation for why he doesnt love her anymore. Mamoru summons up all the douchebaggery within him (which, judging by his behavior toward Usagi in season one, is a whole lot) and tells her that he doesns like weak women.

Usagi leaves thinking she needs to get stronger to win Mamorus heart back. Shesmistaken, of course. Mamoru is lying; he never fell out of love with her.Weakness is actually part of Usagis essence, and part of why Mamoru loves her. As we later see in episode 71, he even gets a little misty-eyed when seeing Usagi trip and fall while running to him.

3. Embracing Anxiety Can Be Beautiful

Everyone in the group bands together to support Usagi in Episode 71: Shared Feelings: Usagi and Mamoru in Love Once Again, as she struggles with her deep love for Mamoru despite his ridiculous reasons for breaking up with her. Jupiters line of comfort (which sadly isnt in the dub) is especially striking: Worries bring out the beauty in a girl, she smiles, suggesting that a personwithout anxiety or fear might be considered less beautiful than someone who embraces weakness and pushes forward. Hearing this nugget of wisdom from the most physically intimidating member of the Senshi speaks volumes about Jupiters character, and calls to mind Makos own insecurities about her femininity. As someone who worries about performing femininity in a way that looks and feels authentic, its nice to hear my hangups might actually improve my beauty!

4. Crying Is Healthy

In Episode 88: The Final Battle Between Light and Darkness! Love Sworn to the Future! Usagi rises up to defeat the seasons Big Bad on her own. Upon seeing this, Chibiusa is struck with remorse at having betrayed her friends after being tricked and corrupted by the Big Bad in previous episodes. Chibiusabegins to weep regretfully into Mamorus chest. Once she starts crying, though, the Silver Crystal falls into her handswhere it had been since she absorbed it into her body in the futureand Chibiusa suddenly has enough power to lend a hand in her mothers fight.

Crying is often viewed asthe ultimate form of weakness. Cis women who cry have their strength and judgment questioned, and are routinely dismissed ashysterical; trans women have the fun experience of unlearning years of toxic masculinity which tells them theyre not supposed to cry, even in the face of raging hormones and intense adversity. This is a lesson Ive personally struggled withI was intensely relieved after hormone replacement therapy unlocked my ability to cry, asmy dry face even at my fathers funeral had convinced me that I was emotionally broken. Inreality, its goodto open your heart togrief. In fact, as Chibiusa shows us, its often after a good cry that we collect ourselves and find a way through our pain.

5. Sometimes We Have to Lean on Others

In Sailor Moons series finale Episode 200: The Light of Hope: The Final Battle for the Galaxy Usagi attempts todefeat the Chaos that has corrupted Galaxia, restore the Light of Hope within her, and fulfill every magical girl trope at once. WhileUsagi shows her strength in this fight, shes utterly exhausted afterwards. Im not that strong, she says, rejecting Galaxias praise and beginning to cry. Once more, thepoint is made that were all entitled to moments of weakness. Whats more, we deserve support and love from those around useven in the moments after we feel our strongest.

In Sailor Moons final moments, Usagis classic monologue returns, informing us that shes still a crybaby and a little bit of a klutzbut shes also Sailor Moon, and she doesnt have to stop being one to be the other, because weakness and empowerment arent mutually exclusive. While I wish that idea had sunkin for me years ago, Im glad to have had it smack me in the face when I most needed it in my life. Being strong all the time is unrealistic, exhausting, and harmful; Id rather embrace my weakness and learn to coexist with it.

Sam Riedel is a freelance writer and editor from Brooklyn. She subsists on a balanced diet of noodles, Pokmon, and science fiction. Can be observed in her natural environment ontwitterortumblr. Prolonged contact may cause irritation.You can find more of Samswork at SamRiedel.com.

The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.

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My Republica – The dotted Muslim daughters that are empowering … – Republica

Posted: at 10:10 pm

International Women's day

Both through the Fatima Foundation and through their personal efforts, the five sisters have been working towards empowering women.

NEPALGUNJ, March 8:When a daughter was born to a Muslim family in Eklaaini town of the district, Amanat Alisa, the baby's father, surprised everyone in his community by naming her 'Tamanna', which means wish in English. The community, which believed that no one really wished for a daughter, was shocked at the father's apparent excitement over having a daughter.

Four more daughters were born in the family. Father Amanat was only overwhelmed over this. He called them his precious gifts.

Amanat is no more alive. However, his love, respect and confidence over the girls continue to live on. All his daughters have established themselves by succeeding in their life. Their family is the only Muslim family in the town whose all daughters are well educated and socially active.

We are five roses that blossomed in the darkness. Our society is dark and we are the light, as our father always told us, said Tamanna. He was always very proud of us. And that was not an understandable matter for the conservative society, she added.

Tamanna's formal name is Shahida Bano Shah. She is counted as one of the popular human rights activists in Nepalgunj. However, reaching to this level was never easy, reports Tamanna.

My father was revolutionary. My mother was supportive, too. However, it's hard to move ahead when the society is against you. The traditional society was my biggest hurdle, she reminisced.

Tamanna's father admitted her to a Madrasa when she was just three. Next year, he sent her to a government school. And this very action enraged the entire Muslim community. The locals said that he was setting a bad precedence. People then strongly believed that daughters should not be educated. My going to Madrasa was not something that the community members approved of. Later, when I went to school, it was even more intolerable for them, Tamanna narrated.

No matter what the people said, Amanat was adamant on educating his daughters. He wanted to see them crossing all barriers and becoming independent women one day.

My birth was really his desire and fulfilling his dreams became my duty, maintained Tamanna. However, at every step, the society would try to block my way, she added.

It would be very difficult for the family when the community would charge them of abusing or disrespecting their religion. Sending daughter to school was something only sinners would do, she said recollecting the conservative views that the Muslim community held around three decades back.

Due to that kind of mindset, girls of my age would hardly go to school. Even if some did, they would quit before completing secondary level education and get married. However, due to my family's encouragement and support, I was able to continue with my studies, Tamanna, 28, said.

Tamanna is now an active member of the Fatima Foundation which works towards the empowerment of Muslim women. Very familiar with the patriarchal scenario in the Muslim community, Tamanna understands girls' and women's problems far easily when they come to seek the organization's support. We handle several kinds of cases. In all the cases, women are victimized by the social structure, she said.

Her four younger sisters live a dignified life, thanks to their education. Her sisters, Hosna and Hasina have completed Bachelors levels, while Mumtaz and Khalida have recently completing their higher secondary school level education.

Early marriage is very common in the Muslim community. However, in the case of this particular family all other sisters are yet to marry, except for Hasina. Hasina had married due to the pressure from her grandmother. However, even that was after she completed her Bachelors degree.

In our family, the biggest struggle was there for her, Tamanna. Since she was the eldest she had to break traditional barriers. The way was far easier for us then, Hasina notes. It's due to her dedication and vision, we all sisters have different life today. It's very rare in the Muslim community here, she added.

The society has, however, not stopped bothering the sisters. They keep asking the reason behind their not getting married. Sometimes we give no answer as that looks wiser. Or else, we make every effort to make people understand that marriage is not the whole essence of life. Moreover, if it's a girl, you should definitely educate her first, said Hasina. She added that the sisters received the urge to change the society from their father. We want to be the light that our society needs. We need a great deal of change to happen in the society, especially in its views towards girls and women and their treatment, she added.

Amanat's daughters, who are proud of themselves, believe that they are one of the strong agents of change in the traditional society. Both through the Fatima Foundation and through their personal efforts, the five sisters have been working towards empowering women. As Tamanna puts it, they have been able to think and act differently because as 'darlings' of their late father, they were inspired to be so.

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Personal Empowerment Services

Posted: March 6, 2017 at 3:06 pm

We are dedicated to leading you on your journey towards success!

Personal Empowerment coaches are professional coaches who adhere to the definition of coaching from the International Coach Federation (ICF). This assures you of a professional coach trained in the core competencies, ethics and skills of coaching.

With our coaching services, you will experience professional growth and development for you and your organization. Fostering this culture of trust and empowerment will result in successful organizational goals and retention of talent.

Professional coaching is an ongoing professional relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results in their lives, career, businesses, or organizations. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life ICF Definition of Coaching

Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of acting, and most importantly, a way of communicating. Simon Sinek

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things Peter F. Drucker

The term coaching is tossed around a lot these days whether its a sports coach telling the team how to win, a person selling a product who coaches their client through the process, someone who tells their client how they should reach their goal. Coaching has become a popular business term that really encompasses many different fields: coaching, training, mentoring, consulting. No wonder there is a lot of confusion about coaching!!

Coaching is a powerful alliance designed to forward and enhance the lifelong process of human learning, effectiveness, and fulfillment. Coaching is chiefly about discovery, awareness and choice. It is a way of effectively empowering people to find their answers, encouraging and supporting them on the path as they continue to make important choices.

Personal Empowerment coaches are graduates from professional coaching programs and Approved Coach Specific Training Hours (ACSTH) and follow the International Coach Federation (ICF) core competencies and code of ethics.

Next:Take the first step and sign up for a Consultationsession.

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Students to Get Paid to Learn Through New Manufacturing Program – Tristatehomepage.com

Posted: at 3:06 pm

Image Source:http://www.in.gov/dwd/skillup.htm

Image Source:http://www.in.gov/dwd/skillup.htm

Skill UP Indiana!, a unique manufacturing program allowing students to learn while they earn money, will begin classes Monday morning.

The program is a collaboration of local industry, community, education, and business partners in the newly created Southwest Indiana Workforce Coalition (SWIWC).

Skill UP is designed to educate and inform students, and will pay students $12.50 per hour during their entire enrollment in the 11-week program, which includes five weeks of class time as well as five weeks of on-the-job learning training, and potential for direct hire with local companies.

Targeted participants include high school youth, and unemployed/underemployed adult workers.

Ivy Tech is continuing to take applications for future classes. The application can be found here.

In late 2016, Ivy Tech Southwest received a grant for the Skill UP Indiana! Program totaling $666,506 from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to provide sector-focused training and education programs for in-demand occupations in the Southwest region.

Skill UP will focus on this region's third largest area for employment opportunities - advanced manufacturing.

Manufacturing in Southwest Indiana is expected to grow by 5.8% during the next decade and the field is experiencing a gap in employment due to the aging workforce and brain drain within existing talent; a challenged work ethic of incoming generations, as well as high turnover of under-skilled, uninformed workers, and misconceptions regarding manufacturing work. Regional employers have expressed a need for programs outside of the standard post-secondary education academic model to train and retrain workers in order for their sector to maintain a competitive edge in an every changing marketplace.

"The SWIWC is committed to educating and preparing this region's middle to high school youth and adult workers through educational and experiential training; as well as development and personal empowerment to generate a thriving employee in the advanced manufacturing industry," said Bo Drake, executive director of workforce development.

Junior Achievement of Southwest Indiana is creating an Advanced Manufacturing curriculum to be delivered in area schools to help create awareness in the types of jobs and careers in the field, Drake said.

Training will include:

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BEP hosts women empowerment conference – The Brown Daily Herald

Posted: at 3:05 pm

Brown Entrepreneurship Program hosted the first intercollegiate womens empowerment conference called Women Empowered at Brown Saturday. The conference introduced students to female leaders through small workshops and lectures.

The conference was organized by Antonia Alvarez 19, Abby Neuschatz 18 and Daniela Paternina 18. The organizers received approximately 230 applications to attend the conference and accepted 160.

Alvarez began planning for the event over a year ago, motivated by a desire to bring female leaders together, she said.

Melanie Whelan 99, CEO of fitness company SoulCycle, delivered the keynote lecture. She explained how each step in her career path from working at Starwood Hotels, to Virgin Airlines to Equinox taught her to prioritize relationship building in business.

Dont think about what you should be doing, but what you could be doing, she said.

In terms of womens empowerment, the world has come a long way since Ive been at Brown, (but) there are still systematic challenges that affect women in business, Whelan told The Herald.

Melissa Tischler 98, an associate partner and the head of the Strategy Team at strategy and design firm Fahrenheit 212, delivered the closing remarks. Previously, Tischler launched EOS personal care products and helped found the nonprofit Women in Innovation.

If this conference gives people that level of confidence to go out and create what they wouldnt otherwise, its a success, Tischler said.

Danielle Peterson 17 attended the conference to have access to role models and be inspired by the women today, she said.

I wish something like this existed when I was at Brown. I think its pretty incredible, Whelan told The Herald.

Alvarez said they are planning another womens empowerment conference for 2018.

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Women have to empower each other: Gul Panag – YourStory.com

Posted: at 3:05 pm

With International Womens Day (March 8) around the corner, it is again time for conversations about womens issues to gain momentum. The celebrations may be short-lived, but the conversations and the messages that emerge are worth carrying forward.

Speaking at a recent event in Bengaluru, actor, pilot, former beauty queen, model and politician Gul Panag urged a group of women working in the corporate world to break the barriers that hold them back.

Gul spoke candidly about her own experiences, drawing examples from her own journey. Her message was strong and inspiring:

"My personal goal is to empower as many women as I can and not through big things. Empowerment is not a fruit that someone gives you on a tree; it's a sense of belief that you are equal and you deserve equality in every walk of life. When you truly believe that is when you're empowered."

I can do anything I want is the mantra Gul lives by. It is what pushes her to take roads less travelled quite literally, as on her show Off Road with Gul Panagor learn how to fly and get a pilots licence, and contest elections even if she doesn't win.

According to Gul, a lot of things women do or dont do are because of social conditioning and things are only going to change if women question them. "If you cant question the stereotypes and conditioning, at least dont pass on the disability to your daughter or the next generation," she urged.

Imagine a co-worker walking up to you and saying she is having a tough time managing her baby and work stress. You could take her out for coffee and let her talk about it rather than responding with Go deal with it because we are all doing it'. As women, we have to be there for each other, said Gul.

Gul shared an interesting theory. According to her, it takes three generations for change to reflect. What my grandfather did, and this is not to discount the efforts of my father, but my grandfather thought long term and that is why I am where I am today. My grandfather did not let social constraints hold him back from making decisions that would improve the lives of the future generations. It is only fitting, then, that Gul runs an NGO named after her grandfather, The Colonel Shamsher Singh Foundation, that works for a variety of causes including gender equality, education, and disaster relief.

Setting the record straight, Gul emphasised that feminism is about equality and not male bashing, which is why every woman should be proud to call herself a feminist.

Although it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of roles women are expected to play, Gul pointed out that the best way to stay relevant and not lose oneself is to spend 10 minutes every day thinking about the things one wants to do. Often the best time to think is when we are exercising. Take out time for exercise, even half an hour, and spend 10 minutes of it thinking through what you want to do for yourself each day. Even if you do one thing out of that list, it is a big achievement.

The event, organised by the Embassy Office Parks, saw other inspirational women talk about their experiences. Ananda Shankar Jayant, aclassical dancer and cancer survivor, urged women to explore and understand where their core passion lies. In life, we face many challenges but what will help you ride the challenge with ease is if you understand what your core passion is, for that will give you the momentum to sail through any challenge. For me, my core passion was dance and I have managed to pursue it after cancer and managed to dance even when I had a full-time career.

Mike Holland, CEO, Embassy Office Parks, spoke to YourStory about his journey in India and how he has seen the landscape for women change since he moved here in the late 1990s. We have seen a progressive change in these 20 years in urban India and it is very encouraging to see women being very successful. However, according to him, the one big challenge women still face is the lack of education.

Reeza Sebastian Karimpanal, Vice-President, Residential, recalled how, over the past decade or so, there had been an increase not only in the number of women at the workplace but also in the number of women leaders at the Embassy group. She joined the company in 2002 and took two years off when her children were born. Reeza says, I feel what has changed is that companies are showing more faith in women and the flexibility that companies provide to women is helping women give their best.

According to Reeza, women's biggest strength is perseverance.

Had they lacked that trait, none of these inspirational women would be where they are today. And that, my friends, is the key to success, so never give up.

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Give Back: Melanie Fiona Gives Empowerment Speech to Young Minority Girls – MadameNoire

Posted: at 3:05 pm

During the last week of Black History Month, Melanie Fiona spoke to a group of young minority girls atLawndale High Schoolin Los Angeles for an event that was titled Dear Future Me created by TheLadies Lounge, a non-profitwomens empowerment organization based in Huntsville, AL and Los Angeles, CA. The desire of The Ladies Lounge is to become an empowerment movement for women across the country. The group hopes to accomplish this by fostering growth and development, providing empowering events and seminars catering to the needs and desires of women, creating outreach opportunities to give back to women and young girls and build lasting partnerships with other empowered women in business. The girls who attended the event were hand-picked because of challenges they were experiencing at home.

During her speech, Melanie shared her personal journey and gave a candid testimonial on success and how these young women can grow up to be whatever they want as long as they work hard. She also shared stories of how men in the industry wanted her to become more sexual and change her appearance which was not going to happen. The girls who attended the event were given Empowerment Kits provided by The Ladies Lounge that included a notepad and beauty essentials. The idea was for them to write their goals down, attain each goal eliminating each one as they are realized and look good while doing it!

There are many celebrities who speak on women empowerment but its refreshing when we actually see them doing things in the community to help give back, especially to our youth. The charity event was a part of the latest installment of our popularMoms on the Moveseries sponsored by McDonalds. While spending a day with Melanie Fiona, in addition to the charity event, we were able to capture her doing a Mommy & Me workout session with adorable son Cameron and a studio session with Super Producer Andre Harris. The full Moms on the Move episode will be available on MadameNoire on March 9th. Be sure to followMelanieon social media to stay updated on her third album, and follow theLadies Loungeif youre interested in donating to the organization.

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COMMENTARY: Empowering the homeless to take the next step … – Delaware State News

Posted: March 5, 2017 at 4:08 pm

The term homeless describes a current and temporary condition for many and is not a characteristic of a person. It is a condition. Many people experience this condition for periods of time when drastic changes such as job loss and family breakups occur. Everyone wonders what it takes to change a persons condition from homeless to housed.

More importantly, how do we avoid doing the wrong things or what is not needed but, instead, empower those experiencing homelessness to change their own situations?

The Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing (DIMH) has changed and grown over its nine years of operations, moving away from the notion of providing shelter and services to one of enabling the homeless to secure their own self-reliant lives. Resources focus on making the tools of success available rather than insisting on compliance with a particular path.

Along the way, we have discovered many of the obstacles that people face who are trying to regain stable lives.

Why dont homeless people just get jobs?

Jeanine Kleimo

Some lack basic information that they need to secure employment, such as a birth certificate. If someone calls his or her state of births department of vital statistics in the hopes of procuring a birth certificate, the office will request both the details of birth and a credit card for payment of the fee of $20 to $50. The homeless person does not have a credit card or address and experiences one of the many Catch-22 type problems faced in obtaining a legal identify.

Our Resource Center has solved both the address problem (by providing one) and will send an affidavit of the requester with credit card details belonging to one of our staff who hope to be repaid through donations to DIMH, as grants rarely cover such a step. Help with Social Security cards and drivers licenses is also provided.

One man was heard to say after waiting weeks to receive his birth certificate, Now I exist!

He went on to get a job and to move on to housing in the community, along with many others.

Some even obtain and maintain jobs while living in tents, with Code Purple sanctuaries their refuge on freezing nights.

Why do homeless people congregate at places like the library? It makes me feel unsafe.

To begin a response with a question: where would you go if you had no place to stay or work and no money to spend?

Its true that the library is a public building. As such, people are allowed to go there when no other place is available. Many also congregate in the DIMH Resource Center, though users are expected to take advantage of services and to move on to make room for other patrons. Both places enable a mobile and sociable population to seek contact, friendship, assistance and support from one another. This interaction is as necessary for those who are homeless as it is for those of us who live and work with others.

With regard to safety: as a woman challenged by her lack of height, I have nevertheless never felt unsafe in dealing with more than 2,000 homeless men these past nine years. They are all human beings who respond to kindness.

What do homeless people need for their lives to change?

For decades since Maslow published his paper on the Hierarchy of Needs, we have recognized that people require food, clothing and shelter to survive. Most social programs focus on the provision of a minimal supply of these essentials, understanding that their absence makes the improvement of life impossible. While these basics are necessary, we must ask what is sufficient for people to change their conditions of life.

Empowering people to take the next step means giving them hope, encouragement and guidance, and showing them what is possible. Empowerment also takes the form of removing obstacles to success: the example of securing ones birth certificate so that a Social Security number and license makes one employable illustrates this.

Many homesless people do not know how to go about finding work and are unprepared for the application and interview process. This is where places like our Resource Center or the Job Center at the Dover Public Library are key resources. At the Resource Center, people can learn how to use computers to complete online job applications. Resumes are prepared for them to communicate their skills and experience in an optimal fashion. Participants are coached in interview skills and assisted to obtain clothing suitable for presenting oneself to a potential employer.

They can also shower, access mail and do their laundry: things that one cannot do in a tent.

Perhaps most important, they interact with those who were homeless in the past and who can offer encouragement about how to succeed. They encounter people who are ready to believe that their success is possible and that they do not have to do everything alone.

In other words, the Resource Center empowers the homeless by removing some of the obstacles to their success and by providing a positive and encouraging setting for them to initiate change in their own lives. It also encourages people to obtain regular work that includes payment of Social Security so that ones long-term future is a bit more secure.

Many homeless individuals lacking experience and basic identification are vulnerable to exploitation. One man was permitted to live on an employers boat while earning $20 per day for hard labor. Others eager for work are paid small amounts of cash under the table for manual labor and no opportunity for improvement.

Does this approach work for everyone?

Sadly, the answer is NO. Many who are homeless also suffer from mental illness and from substance abuse. Some mental illness is mild and may be treated with counseling or medication. Accessing sufficient care is still a challenge for many who lack stable residence, telephones, and transportation. Local services are often insufficient to provide the frequency and regularity of care that is needed.

Accessing services through the Resource Center is possible, including registering homeless individuals for Medicaid; however, the current outpatient treatment model assumes that the client has the personal ability to comply with the treatment plan.

Residential care is limited though greatly needed. In the meantime, the mentally ill and addicted are sent to shelters instead of those who might regain self-reliant lives as the result of a stay in a shelter with employment and housing guidance.

Many homeless individuals are disabled and alone. With monthly federal disability income of $733, they are also unable to afford most housing on their own. In the experience of those working at Dover Interfaith, many disabled adults fear living alone and dying alone and do not wish to be isolated from their community of people in similar circumstances.

Still others do not know how to apply for disability benefits or find their applications rejected, leaving them with no resources and no hope. Assistance and encouragement are provided in the Resource Center; however, many truly disabled low-income adults wait months and even years for financial assistance.

What about housing?

Study after study shows that people achieve greater personal stability and self-reliance when they are able to secure stable and affordable housing. Shelters are only a good starting point; but demand far exceeds supply. 761 different individuals resided in one of three Dover shelters during 2016. Few can afford the average $1,200 monthly cost for private rental housing, and waiting lists for assisted housing are long. A minimum-wage job is nowhere near sufficient to cover local housing costs.

Enabling people to achieve basic employment goals in a supportive group setting sometime leads to building friendships among those willing to share housing; but other obstacles remain: landlords seek those with demonstrated stability and adequate credit histories. This does not characterize most of those who have been living on the street.

Empowering people to achieve real stability means developing housing that is affordable, safe and which includes compliance with continued efforts to address credit, personal budgeting and other issues. Putting people into housing without supportive services may lead to a renewed cycle of personal failure. New models of housing affordable to those of very low incomes are needed desperately. Such housing must include expectations of participation in those activities, which will lead to improved personal earning capacity and self-reliance.

What works?

Cost-effective strategies to address the needs of the majority of the homeless are being explored by the Mayors Panel on Homelessness. Dover Interfaith knows that empowering the homeless is a critical step in their success and endeavors to keep its Resource Center functioning. At present, there is no funding for the Resource Center despite its critical contributions to the needs of our local homeless population. We are blessed with volunteers and occasional donations and do our best to sustain it.

EDITORS NOTE: Jeanine Kleimo is chairwoman of the Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing.

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Krejci named 2017 Woman of Achievement – Southernminn.com

Posted: March 4, 2017 at 1:09 am

OWATONNA When Cheri Krejcis name was called, she was speechless.

As she made her way from her table where her family and friends were seated in the soft lighting of Jefts Library on the Pillsbury College Prep and Camp Friday evening those in attendance stood in applause.

Well, I dont even know what to say, Krejci said, garnering chuckles from the audience. There are great women up for this award and I dont feel that I should be the one picked, but thank you to everybody.

Krejci, a longtime Blooming Prairie resident and community advocate, was named the Owatonna Business Womens 45th annual Woman of Achievement in the presence of more than 100 individuals at the organizations scholarship awards and fundraiser celebration.

She was chosen from five finalists who live or work in Steele County and exemplify the groups mission to promote personal empowerment, professional development and political awareness who were announced in February.

Other nominees for the award were Linda Hoffman, manager of Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute and Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Owatonna Hospital, part of Allina Health; Kim Schaufenbuel, executive director of United Way of Steele County; Amy LaDue, director of teaching and learning for Owatonna Public Schools; and Kellyanna Moore, a family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology physician and surgeon at Mayo Clinic Health System Owatonna.

Tonight not only do we celebrate the success and achievements of five wonderful women of what we see of the tip of the iceberg, but more importantly, we celebrate everything below the surface: their stories, why they give, the sacrifices they have made, their dedication to their careers, their families, their communities, the countless hours of speaking, donating, fundraising, baking and all the other things that they do because this is what truly makes them all women of achievement, said Katie Glaser, Owatonna Business Women president.

Krejci, who has been the office manager at Krejci Ford in Blooming Prairie for more than 30 years, is responsible for managing payroll, accounting, titles and inventory control, attended Faribault Technical School and continued her education through the Ford Accounting School in office management.

But probably most notable, if youve met Krejci, is the work she does outside of the confines of her dealership office. Thats because there is plenty.

Krejci, a seven-year breast cancer survivor, has been a member of the Blooming Prairie Cancer Group since 2005. The organization was started in 2000 to raise money for the annual Eagles Cancer Telethon in Rochester that funds research, and in 2010, the group started the community fund to provide assistance to individuals and their families and they go through cancer treatment.

As a cancer survivor, Cheri is always willing to lend a hand, her heart, her time or a shoulder to cry on, Glaser said.

She has also served as a 4-H leader, Girl Scouts leader, volunteer at the Homestead Hospice House and the stewardship secretary and volunteer at First Lutheran Church of Blooming Prairie. However, Krejci has been pitched in to help with fundraising efforts for the Boys and Girls Club of Blooming Prairie and the Stix of Fury, a Blooming Prairie-based drumline and color guard. She was the founding member of the Blooming Prairie Education Foundation and the Blooming Prairie Quarterback Club.

Krejci has previously been recognized as the 2007 Blooming Prairie Citizen of the Year, 2014 Boys and Girls Club Awesome Advocator and the 2013 Minnesota Twins Honorary Bat Girl, where she had the honor to throw the first pitch at a Mothers Day game.

The judges, three women from out of town who met with the candidates Feb. 25 for one-on-one interviews, described Krejci as a silent leader who people want to follow and a kind and gentle servant.

Also honored Friday were four scholarship recipients and the Owatonna Business Womens Young Careerists and Pioneer Woman.

This years scholarship recipients, funded in part by ticket sales and silent auction of the evenings event, were Ashley Gilbertson and Britta Gantert, who were this years senior scholarship recipients, and Michelle Miller and Vikki Ebenhoh, who received the aspiring woman scholarships. All four women were praised for their impressive involvement in the community.

The Young Careerists, up-and-coming young business women selected for their accomplishments so far in their careers and to highlight their future promise, are Ryan Gillespie, a mortgage loan officer at Bremer Bank; Kate Harthan, operations director at Corporate Recognition; and Janie Rolloff, accounting management at Federated Insurance, who were announced by Steele County District Court Judge Karen Duncan, who is also 2009 Woman of Achievement.

The Pioneer Woman, which is presented to a Steele County woman over 60 years old who has carved footprints in the community and world at large, is Marlys Mickelson.

Over the last several decades, she has impressively cultivated a flexibility to respond to an ever-changing environment for women, juggling a family and motherhood, professional work and civic stewardship, said Jennifer Frazier, who introduced Mickelson.

Mickelson moved to Owatonna in the mid-1960s, where she and her husband, Phil, raised two sons. Since then, shes been a friend of the Owatonna Arts Center and Steele County Historical Society and actively volunteers at the Steele County Food Shelf, delivers Meals on Wheels and recruits and works countless hours to care for the Homestead Hospice House grounds, provided support as an Owatonna Aquatic Center steering committee member, volunteers for the hospital auxiliary and Trinity Lutheran Church.

Repeatedly, Marlys shares her talents within our community and has become an essential ingredient, Frazier said.

On behalf of women, Mickelson advocates the message that issues matter regardless of whether it is city, state or national. She was employed by Lyle Mehrkens, a former Republican Minnesota senator, worked to elect Cal Ludeman, a former Republican Minnesota representative, to the state governorship and Congress. She continues to advocate and support Democratic candidates and current issues today, and serves as an election judge.

I am pleased and grateful for this honor. Grateful to the person who nominated me. Grateful to the selection committee and the [Owatonna Business Women] organization who enrich our community with honors and scholarships, Mickelson said. I am also grateful that I live in Owatonna. There are many opportunities to become involved in our community and I encourage you to do so.

Krejcis award was announced at the end of the event, which consisted of appetizers, a silent auction and a program, where she was introduced by last years Woman of Achievement and this years keynote speaker Carol Belmore, a social worker at Owatonna Junior High School.

I believe each one of us has the ability to make a difference in the lives of others, to inspire others to do great things and to help others discover and appreciate the gifts they have been given, Belmore said during her keynote speech.

Reach reporter Ashley Stewart at 444-2378 or follow her on Twitter.com @OPPashley

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Electing Caliban: Assessing Civic Health in Post Truth America – Huffington Post

Posted: at 1:09 am

Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love. -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky (from The Brothers Karamazov)

To many Americans, the election of the forty-fifth president is an ongoing punch in the gut. To others, it remains a profound relief. The question is: for how long?

The original sorting mechanism for voters in this election cycle was the deft appeal not to reason and facts, but to emotion and tribalism. This, of course, is the oldest kind of politics; it discloses the roots of partisanship and shouldnt surprise anyone. Still, what a distance there is between tribe and truth. In an era so completely saturated with information (information that traffics freely and instantly through the screens and minds of so many Americans) it is shocking to behold, even after the election, the growing chasm between information and veracity. In an era where a library far superior than any ancestor ever dreamed of can be held in ones hand, it is astonishing to witness the many ways that reason and wisdom can be so brazenly cast aside, the many waysmore concerning to methat truth can be no match for ignorance.

Speaking specifically in terms of the recent electionand the many chaotic days that have followed in its wakeits easy to provide an orienting example. As a campaign strategy, the sustained petition to the shared misery and fears of the disenfranchised (and largely white) voter by an individual who is clearly no champion of the disenfranchised white voter is a living expression of the post-truth age in which we now suddenly dwellan age that is hosting the most serious moral and existential crisis this country has faced in a generation.

Trumps love for the poorly educated voter and his campaign teams decision to fraudulently capitalize on the pain of this group in order to get votes will be a topic for scholars of politics and ethics to sort through long after we all (including the poorly educated) awake from this nightmarish convulsion of history. To make impossible promises to any group of peopleespecially those who have faith that candidates are at least conscious of some shred of truth outside of the wink-wink hyperbole of campaign rhetoricis truly what merits the term deplorable in this election year. Lies, in any season, never create fertile moral or civic terrain; and to spit them out so brazenly, pathologically, and enthusiastically reveals a profound illnessnot only in the person who does the lying (and who, unchained by those who should rein him in, is upping his game at every turn), but also in the culture that elected him. And this means everybody.

In this sense, Trump is a kind of Caliban of modern politics. He was created by a crass, consumerist, reality TV culture and has revealed himself, like Caliban in Shakespeares last play, to be the living embodiment of base appetites. Appetites, of course, power the engine of consumer culture; they are implacable, need to be fed, and Trump is certainly hungry. But it is also becoming increasingly clearespecially to those who have not had the time or inclination to focus more sharply on this global train wreckthat Trumps appetites are not only malformed and disordered, but are insatiable and endless in their need. He is hungry not for service, but for attention; he desires not truth, but power; he wants not the common good of the many, but the narrow good of the few. Appetites can spread through the hive of society like an emotional contagion and its effects are without boundary. As Marilynne Robinson wisely counsels "Fear operates as an appetite or an addiction. You can never be safe enough"an insight that seems particularly apt in this case. The appetites Trump possesses are neither original nor unique; but they are out of joint in a president and disrupt the best of American tradition. More pragmatically, they will not engender any semblance of peace, justice, and polity either at home or abroad.

In this way, Trump is best understood not as a dialogical response to Hillary Clinton (and, even against Clintons errors in leadership, this opposition reveals another species of moral injustice and social degradation), nor even as a foil to the goodness and civility of President Obama (and one need not agree politically with President Obama to acknowledge the unimpeachability of his personal character). No. These now ancillary antagonists in the unfolding drama are no longer on the spectrum of opposition when it comes to naming the toxic defects of Number 45. We have moved well beyond the distracting plot points of identity politics and are into new territory here. The battle now (as ever, really) is a moral one; and Trumps team will side step this reality by concocting a series of adversaries to keep the public occupied in a fake drama. This is what is meant when critics of all parties and stripes assert that Trump and the brain stem of his team are building an administration based on cock-and-bull deception and propaganda. Hubris, boorishness, and lassitude best characterize this presidential skill set and the enabling pack of Trumpian yes-people sell it to the public as political rectitude. As much as hell tell us otherwise, it is Trump (and those who are pulling his strings and running the larger game) who are making a colossal mess. It is Trump, a worse angel of our nature if there ever was one, who parades in front of the Lincoln Memorial in a sick parody of presidential possibility. It is Trump who defiles the integrity of the Oval office in a pageant of puerile tweets, unprecedented incompetence, and epic narcissism.

How elitist and ignorant it would be, though, to cite Shakespeare and then indict the poorly educated as singularly complicit in the mess we are in. This is not the point and I will not facilitate such an injustice. Shakespeare simply understands humanity as well as anyone ever has. One could even argue, as Harold Bloom does, that Shakespeare created modern notions of humanity and this is no small thing. Shakespeare not only understood reason and facts, but the many ways that reason and facts can be distorted and abusedespecially by those in power. In my experience, the poorly educated of any stripe always sit up in their chairs and are transformed when they encounter the Bard in his native habitat (i.e. the stage). Why? Because Shakespeare writes the truth and it explodes in our consciousness when we are confronted by its compelling majesty. The Tempest is all about Prospero getting woke to his mistakes and he rightly takes the blame for the poor leadership, deception, and lack of care that created Caliban. In the last act, Prospero admits culpability for Caliban, this demi-devil--For he's a bastard onethis thing of darkness! Acknowledge mine.

I have little respect for elitists; and they, like me, have their problems. So many elitists are also poorly educated and are as guilty as compromising personal integrity and the common good as anybody. Still, to bring it home with the Bard, All the worlds a stage and in our unfolding human drama the greater virtue is in mercy than in vengeance. We all have blind spots, think errantly at times, and are in need of correction. To live and dwell in the truth is difficult which is why its so profoundly valuable. To engage in any journey towards the truthin the many shapes and educational paths this journey takes is hard work. It is the highest drama of human existence and remains the central value of any evolved culture. Moreover (or more practically, if youd like), it is as important to national and global security as anything else.

So when an administration moves to muzzle the media or when it moves to curtail funding for the humanities and scienceswhen it moves to increase suppression of the truth telling mechanisms of societyyou can be sure that the lions will roar and defend their dens. If youd like to trace the origins of the Post Truth age, look no further than the gutting of the humanities in education and culture. Speaking as an educator, this development is most important to me and it transcends, as it should, my tribal political commitments and values. The robust humanities programs that resurrected culture in the aftermath of World War II were nurtured and cultivated for a reason. Humanities education not only gives a society the very tools it requires to fashion a just state, but also engenders personal empowerment and the collective will to shine a light on its lies. As Flannery OConnor observed, The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. Trumps error is that, aside from having no sense of history, he does not respect his base enough to come clean about this. This not only compromises his personal credibility, but the credibilityand the safetyof America.

Dear reader, like Shakespeares wise Gonzalo you may say that the truth you speak doth lack some gentleness/And time to speak it in. You rub the sore/ When you should bring the plaster. And youd have a point to score against this Catholicespecially during the penitential season of Lent. However, it is deception that is out or order in any season and it must be called to rights. Clearly, Trumps whoppersor what Newt Gingrich calls campaign deviceshelped get him into the White House; but what will this unfortunate penchant for alternative facts and habit of (un)conscious fabrications mean for civic and global health in the days to come? We are already seeing scandal upon scandalall having to do with one lie or another and this simply unsustainable. As Buddhist wisdom reminds us: Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

Pope Paul VI wrote fifty years ago For the lover of Truth, Dialogue is always possible and people of good will are always ready to dialogue. But how does one dialogue when there is such a symphony of mendacity and self-promoting misdirection in play? Thats easy: tell the truth. The difficult part is that you have to love the truth in order to tell it.

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