Brownsville | Late Night | Chicago Billboards - 6/11/07

[Smartmarriages]

- BROWNSVILLE TEXAS: WORKSHOP FOCUSES ON RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
- LATE NIGHT CONFERENCE QUESTIONS
- CHICAGO ORGANIZATIONS RESPOND TO ANTI-MARRIAGE BILLBOARD AD

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- BROWNSVILLE TEXAS: WORKSHOP FOCUSES ON RELATIONSHIP SKILLS

June 11, 2007, The Brownsville Herald
TOUGH QUESTIONS
Workshop focuses on relationship skills
By Victoria Manning
            
The Hispanic Active Relationships Project (HARP) of Cameron County wants to
help couples learn to have healthy relationships ­ even if it means asking
the tough questions.

H.A.R.P., a nonprofit organization created through a grant from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, focuses on strengthening the
family-marriage dynamic.

H.A.R.P. has created a program called Hot Topics, which focuses on hard
questions some people may be too embarrassed to ask.

A panel of professional relationship counselors will lead the discussion and
answer anonymous questions asked by participants.

HHHHot Topics meets from 5:30-6:30pm Thursday at the Barnes and Noble
Bookstore on the campus of the University of Texas Brownsville and Southmost
College.

³There will be a basket and paper and people will put in questions and no
one will ever know what you asked,² said H.A.R.P. project coordinator, Luisa
Gallegos.

The bilingual event will have a professional translator on hand, she said.

Gallegos said Hot Topics will become a monthly event and hopes it creates a
laid back Starbucks-type atmosphere.

Kelly Simpson, an author and licensed marriage and family therapist, is the
founder of H.A.R.P. She also runs Active Relationships in Dallas.

³Kelly Simpson and specialists from the community did research about family
health and saw a great need for a pilot program; people really took to it,²
Gallegos said.

H.A.R.P. was awarded a 2.5 million grant for a five-year period in Cameron
County. Since its inception in January 2007, H.A.R.P. has worked to inform
couples on marriage education.

The organization created a series of workshops to enhance their marital
status.

Conflict resolution, communication, money issues and intimacy are addressed
in the workshops.  

What we do in the classes is give couples communication tools in a healthy
and respectful manner, Gallegos said.

Gallegos said, H.A.R.P. is not exclusive to married couples. ³It is for
anyone who wants to be in a healthy relationship,² she said.

Although H.A.R.P. is in its preliminary stages, Gallegos believes the
program has made a difference.

When you see a couple that just calls and says, ³We are so much stronger,²
it is really rewarding, she said.
 
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Kelly Simpson says that based on this article 5 couples already registered
for classes today in Brownsville.

Kelly will train (many!) instructors at Denver Smart Marriages in her Active
Relationships Program:
 
> 107  Two Days - Wednesday & Thursday, June 27, 28
> Active Relationships Accelerated Training
> Kelly Simpson, MA
> Leave certified to teach FIVE ³best practices² programs: Active Marriage, two
> Military programs (for single or marrieds), a Youth and a Single Adults¹
> program. Also receive materials to complete certification for four Mastery
> courses: Money, Communication, Romance, Traditions. Spanish and Christian
> editions available. $100 spouse discount. Click for more information:
> http://www.smartmarraiges.com/simpson.html

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- LATE NIGHT CONFERENCE QUESTIONS:

No, it's not too late to register.  I have received several calls in the
last hour asking if: 1) Is it too late to register for an institute and
should I just do that at the conference because I already have my badge?; 2)
my husband got his badge in the mail today and I didn't, what should I do? ;
4) Is it too late to get an exhibit table?; and 5) Is it too late to add a
ticket for the Haley/Madanes event on Sat night for a colleague and how
would I do that since I already have received my badge?  The answers:

1) It's not too late to add institutes, exhibits, or special tickets.
2) If you've already received your badge, call 800-314-1921 ext "0" to add
an Institute. It's important to add INSTITUTES or BANQUETS in advance so
that Institute presenters can bring enough manuals and we can order enough
food.  Bring your badge and turn it in and get a new one that will be
pre-printed and ready to exchange.
3) If you want to add tickets for the special Saturday night Madanes/Robbins
Ultimate Relationships event, you can wait and do that at the conference.
It's Cloe Madanes and Tony Robbins, btw, not Madanes and Jay Haley. Several
people have made that mistake.
4) If your spouse or colleague received their badges and you didn't, just
wait a few days.  It's likely just the vagaries of the mail.  If you don't
receive your badge by Friday, call 800-314-1921 ext "0" and let them know
there is a problem.
5) For exhibits, overnight the exhibit form that's at smartmarriages.com


And, this is at 11pm!  Not one caller seemed at all surprised that I'm
answering the phone! :)  - diane

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- CHICAGO ORGANIZATIONS RESPOND TO ANTI-MARRIAGE BILLBOARD AD

Family Bridges Initiative Featured on Outdoor Billboard Campaign
June 11 
  
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In response to a recent controversial Billboard
that featured an anti-marriage message to promote the services of a local
firm of divorce lawyers, Family Bridges, a coalition of faith and
community-based organizations including The Chicago Alliance for Latino
Marriages (CALMA), and the African American Arusi Network, announced the
launch of an outdoor Billboard that promotes healthy marriages.
  
Like most Chicagoans, we were extremely offended by the message that this
particular billboard depicted, and wanted to promote the positive impact
that a healthy marriage can have for a couple, their children, and our
community as a whole, said Dr. Alicia La Hoz, Family Bridges Program
Manager. The Family Bridges billboard is located on W. Grand Ave & N. La
Salle in Chicago, IL 60610.
  
Research shows that all things being equal, children living in a household
led by a couple in a healthy marriage have a better chance of realizing
their fullest potential, while the community can expect decreases in drug
use, crime and poverty. ( Source: Why Marriage Matters, Second Edition:
Twenty-Six Conclusions from the Social Sciences, September 2005.)
  
Family Bridges is part of the Healthy Marriage Initiative, funded by the
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for
Children and Families, (Grant Number: 90FE0011). Family Bridges, launched
last February in Chicago, offers couple workshops, premarital and
relationship skills for singles and relationship education for high school
youth. For more information, people can call the public information line
1-877-41-BRIDGE (27434) or visit http://www.familybridgeschicago.org/
  
For additional information about Family Bridges, an interview with a Family
Bridges: spokesperson, or to get a picture of the billboard please contact:
Claudia Santa Cruz, Tel. 305-220-8887.


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11th Annual Smart Marriages Conference, Denver Adam's Mark Hotel,
June 28-July 1, 2007
Download a brochure: http://www.smartmarriages.com/Brochure.07.pdf


List your program and resources on the Directory of Classes at
http://www.smartmarriages.com

Order conference audio & video CD/DVD/MP3s: 800-241-7785 or
http://www.iPlaybackSmartMarriages.com

Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE)
Diane Sollee, Director
5310 Belt Rd NW, Washington, DC 20015-1961
http://www.smartmarriages.com
202-362-3332

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