Family Programs & Events

*Parent Education Program (PEP): “Putting Children First” is a State of Connecticut program required as a prerequisite to granting a divorce. Sessions are designed to help families cope with the effects of divorce on children.

The next session of two-part classes (participants must attend both Mondays to gain completion) will be offered March 9 and 16, from 6 to 9 pm, and Saturday, March 28, from 9 am to 3 pm.

*Gym Time At Edmond Town Hall: Spend some quality time with your children while preserving a healthy lifestyle, Wednesdays from 9:30 until 11:30 am. Cost is $50 per family per session. Call Elaine at NYFS for more information.

Youth Programs & Activities

*Job Bank is accepting applications from qualified 13- to 17-year-olds who want employment babysitting, pet sitting, or performing other household chores. Call between 10 am and noon weekdays for an application.

*Middle School Homework Club is running after school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

*Reed School Homework Club meets after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

*Rock ‘N Roll Middle School meets on Wednesdays from 2:30 until 5 pm.

Support Groups

*Alateen meetings are Tuesdays from 7 to 9 pm. This program is for youth affected by somebody else’s alcoholism.

At meetings members share their personal experiences, and learn to find personal happiness, whether or not the alcoholic in their lives is still drinking.

*An Autism Group, for parents of children with special needs, meets at 7 pm the first Thursday of each month.

Call Wendy Suckow, 364-1133, for more information. The group’s next meeting will be March 5.

*CHAOS, or Choosing Healthy Alternative Over Substances, an adolescent substance abuse group, has begun meeting.

This group focuses on prevention and healthy alternatives to drugs. Sessions — which are every Wednesday at 6 pm — deal with issues such as coping techniques, emotions, addictions, peer pressure, choices, and consequences.

Contact Dorothy at NYFS for additional information.

*Children of Divorce Group, a special group to help your child heal from the pain caused by a separation or divorce, is now forming.

Meetings are Thursday nights from 5 to 6 pm. The next six week cycle for 10-14-year olds will begin February 26.

*The Me After We is a new ongoing divorce support group for adults. Meetings are on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 pm.

This coed group focuses on support, healing and moving forward after a divorce.

Contact Laura at NYFS for more information.

*Mommy & Me, a support group for first-time mothers with children less than a year old, has resumed. The group meets on Tuesdays from 10:30 am until noon. Call Elaine for more information.

*NAMI is America’s largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons with serious mental illness. This group meetings the third Monday of each month, 9 am to noon.

*Reality Bites: Led by Stacia Helfand, “Reality Bites” is a weight management group that offers strategies and tips for weight loss. Weekly sessions provide a weigh-in for accountability, nutrition education and peer support. The group is 45 minutes in length and is followed by a peer walking group

The group meets every Thursday morning at 9 am. Cost is $15 per session or ten sessions for $125. For more information, call Stacia at 203-260-8911.

*Sibshop meetings are Wednesday nights from 5 to 6 pm. This program acknowledges that being the brother or sister of a person with special needs is for some a good thing, for others a not so good thing, and for many, somewhere in between.

A six-week cycle for 10-14-year olds will begin on February 25. Call Jessi to sign up.

*Women Empowering Women: A support group for women to empower and encourage each other to reach their fullest potential, Women Empowering Women meets on Thursdays. Sessions will run each week from 6:45 to 7:45 pm.

Contact Thea at NYFS for additional details or to register.

All programs take place at NYFS, 17 Church Hill Road, unless otherwise noted. For more information or to register call 270-4335.