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Members of the board of the Newtown Business & Professional Women's Club

discussed the BPW Foundation/Eli Lily Community Education grant the club has

received to educate women about clinical depression. From left, front,

Co-President Ginger Humeston, Liz Arneth, (rear) Marty LaMarche, Kathy Beals,

Kathleen Broxton. -Bee Photo, Valenta

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

The Newtown Business & Professional Women's Club has been awarded a BPW

Foundation/Eli Lily Community Education Grant to educate women about clinical

depression.

The grant is part of a national program, Dispelling the Myth: Women and

Depression, which will be discussed at the Newtown BPW's first meeting of the

1998-99 club year scheduled for 6 pm on Monday, September 14, at The Villa

restaurant in Sandy Hook.

"Depression is known as the silent disease," said Ginger Humeston, Newtown BPW

co-president who wrote the grant application. "It's important to make women

aware that depression is an illness that can be treated."

The Eli Lily Corp gave the BPW Foundation $10,000 to implement the program

nationwide. The Newtown club will receive $300 which can be used to hire

speakers, sponsor screenings, or other related purposes.

"We have discovered how many club members have been touched within their

families and workplaces by women who suffer this still `in the closet'

condition," Mrs Humeston said. "We feel strongly about the need for our

organization to educate ourselves, others, the community, and businesses on

this subject."

"Our motto (locally) is `Speaking Up and Speaking Out - Dispelling the myths

About Women and Depression," she said. "Our target population will be the

communities which encompass the Newtown BPW organization -Newtown, Danbury,

Southbury, and Bethel, totalling 100,000. We also will utilize the Chambers of

Commerce to reach businesses, to educate about the loss of productivity and

time because of depression. Anne Ragusa, president of the Newtown Chamber of

Commerce, is a Newtown BPW member and will help us to do this."

Newtown BPW members plan to distribute 1,500 to 2,500 pamphlets on "What Every

Woman Should Know About Depression" to area businesses, she said. "The

foundation also has a video and program guide to use with corporations."

Mrs Humeston said the 65-member Newtown BPW has a widely diverse professional

membership that has contacts with business leaders, community lay leads, and

local and state government officials.

The speaker at the September 14 meeting will be Lou Ann Iaia, director of the

Bridge to Independence program for the Danbury area. This program, operated by

the state of Connecticut, supports women getting off welfare and into the job

market.

"Many of these women have no self esteem and little education about their

mental and physical health," Mrs Humeston said. "Depression is often a

significant factor in this. Newtown BPW will collect clothing in excellent

condition for these women to use in job interviews. We also will develop a

mentoring program."

BPW will assist the Family Counseling Center in November with its annual

Depression Screening Day. FCC Director Judy Benson and psychotherapist Barbara

Shohet, who is also a BPW member, will speak the November BPW meeting about

women, depression, and addiction.

The project is important to the community because depression is one of the

silent killers - it is the death of the spirit and sometimes results in

suicide, Mrs Humeston said.

"It is costly in terms of life, and not just dollars. It is in everyone's

interests including businesses to understand and to provide an avenue of help.

This all begins with a foundation of education and talking about what is

happening to women who live with depression at home and at work. As women, we

are responsible to other women in helping each other find a voice, and live to

the fullest," she said.

Newtown BPW is a nonprofit organization that promotes the interests of

business and professional women and providing them with an opportunity for

networking. The club usually meets the first Monday of each month (except for

September when it falls on Labor Day) at 6 pm at area restaurants. Following a

networking session, dinner begins at 6:30 pm.

Dinner reservations, $18, are required by Friday, September 11, for the

September 14 meeting at The Villa. For reservations, call Judy Volpe at

Advance Esthetiques, 270-8911.