This October through November TurningPointCT.org Project Coordinator Ally will be facilitating a FREE CCAR Recovery Coach Training for young people aged 16-29.
Every Saturday from 10am through 5pm (we will provide lunch) we will gather at the Smilow Life Center in Norwalk and learn skills that will help us support people with their recovery and help us to manage our own lives and recovery as well.
If you are interested in attending and becoming a Recovery Coach, email info@healthymindsct.org and tell us why this matters to you and how you plan to use your certification.
Space is limited, so please apply as soon as possible!
See you in October!

I have been reading about career decisions, and I’ve learnt to look, not only on the income brackets and accessibility of jobs available in the job market at this moment in time, but the future of these jobs and the economic implications, which more than ever, are beginning to paint a dim outlook for anyone who is not keeping up with whats going on in the world and in our country.

So I picked a few articles that I have read. I think they are all eye-opening and worth the read, especially for anyone thinking about entering a new career; starting college or hoping to start internships (apprenticeships) and so forth. Its all meant to keep us open and ready for change… beating the new tides of innovation, training and education:

Here are the articles, please read and have fun:

Wanted: Factory Workers, Degree Required
This articles looks at job prospects for those (especially in the rust belt) who are hoping to see new development in manufacturing jobs under the new administration:
Read Here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/education/edlife/factory-workers-college-degree-apprenticeships.html?_r=0

Why Women Quit Working: It’s Not for the Reasons Men Do
This one looks into the difference between why men go unemployed versus why women go unemployed. It looks at the kind of jobs men are going for versus, the growing responsibility of women, not only in the workplace but also at home.

And take a look at whats really going on in the job market, number wise. There is alot that still needs to catch our attention: ‘who is unemployed?’ ‘Why?’ and ‘How is that changing?’ and ‘What does the future looks like?’
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-jobs-report-january-2017-2017-2

Very often when I speak about religion it typically surrounds the will of different faith to condemn gay people but occasionally I have had positive conversations about the church, particularly about the haven that the church seems to provide, in an unlikely case, where one is gay.

Recently, I scrolled over an article by Out Magazine; an interview with Marlon James,
a Jamaican novelist who won the top literary prize in 2015 (The Man Booker Prize).

Marlon, currently living in the US – a college teacher in Minnesota – his thoughts from the interview were very intriguing…
he hinted at the cultural tenets that are still being embraced throughout Jamaican society.

For the most part, Marlon’s responses were not surprising, they were enlightening.
His experiences perfectly depict the typical gay Jamaican boy: an embodiment of sacrifice and fear.

Never mind the beard or the locks on his head [a symbol of the Rastafarian religion], Marlon was a devoted Christian living in Jamaica.
Ironically, the church was just about the safest place for a gay man in Jamaica; and that’s a gay man in the closet.
Besides the old black pastor with the Bible in his hand, which he beats down on the podium, the church was a vessel for secrets.

It wasn’t unlikely that if you were gay, you would most likely target the most cherished positions in the church.
I lead Sunday school… I had a strong devotion to my faith but it was also a clever distraction.

Jamaicans saw the church for what it was (or should be); an institution of guiding values and morals.
The barber who couldn’t make it to church on Sunday because he had to cut hair; the man on the street selling ‘weed’; the musicians who compose the most damning and violent lyrics all believe, that they owe the church something (whether its monetary donation or genuine respect).

This small gesture underscores the idea that the church was sacred and is almost always the standard bearer of ‘all good’.
So it’s no surprise that Marlon, who grew up under the principles and credence of the church in Jamaica and as a gay man, would echo the words, “The church was a big Closet.”

Quite frankly, its fair to say that a gay man living in Jamaica, is probably, one, closeted and two, a devoted Christian.

New Blogs: Reality Check With Brian and Others! – Since April, we have had two new bloggers. Kelly started contributing to our weekly blog since April and Brian has been contributing to the forum since the start of May.

Kelly has been sharing with us what life is like in college and how she deals with anxiety, depression and OCD and Brian, our newest blogger will be keeping us up-to-date with current events in his blog: Reality Check. When he’s not blogging about mental health, Brian spends his free time thinking too much, getting distracted and deliberating about how he “should” spend his free time.  When he’s actually doing something, he enjoys learning, volunteering, the arts, spending time in Nature and “being productive”.  A self-described social justice junkie, Brian first had his consciousness raised to the issue of mental illness in 2011 after seeing the musical Next to Normal.  Behavioral healthcare program coordinator by day, Brian enjoys evenings and weekends living with his partner, their two kitties and a few plants in lovely East Hampton, CT.  Last week Brian shared his first piece, which touches on the issue of addiction and its root causes: Finding a Fix.

Also, on a monthly basis, professional blogger, Amy will also be contributing to the forum; she has had a very fascinating past and she hopes to grab our attention as she reveals some of the very traumatic experiences that has had. In her own words, “I’ve had to befriend my past, embrace my experience, and express what had happened to me.”

Amy’s Blog is called The Detourist and you can read her story HERE.

The New Schedule for each blog is as follows:
Mondays: Daily Life of a College Student – Kelly
Tuesdays: Everything Music – Kevin
Thursdays: Journal Black Gay immigrant – kevin
Fridays: Reality Check – Brian
Monthly: The The Detourist- Amy

Look out for all the new posts in the weeks ahead and feel free to share your concerns and gratitude in the Discussion Forum.