Mandyevebarnett's Blog

As the old saying goes ‘nothing stays the same’ – children grow up and leave home, relationships alter or falter, younger children may have issues with peer groups or school and the elderly have to adjust to new circumstances and lessened abilities. Life can throw us curve balls at any time and how we cope depends on our personality and family situation. Each event affects us in many ways, emotionally, physically or financially and it is our ability to deal with the transformation these events bring that can make us stronger with help. Our capability to adjust has many variants – it might be our age or how we relate to others or how well we know ourselves. No matter what life throws at us we can seek help – there is no stigma in using professionals to help clarify, support or assist us in coping or adjusting. We do not have to struggle alone and it is certainly not a sign of weakness to reach out.

One look at the demographics of Sherwood Park gives us a real insight into our fellow residents – married couples hold 60% and single persons 27% of the population, leaving 9% for divorced and 5% for widowed.  Within these figures the age groups are fairly evenly spread – 0 – 4yrs 20%, 15 – 24 yrs 14%, 25 – 34 yrs 11%, 35 – 44 yrs 16%, 45 – 54 yrs 17%, 55 – 64 yrs 13% and 64 plus yrs 10%.  (www.zoocasa.com) Within these groups there is the potential for a diverse range of difficulties, which can be influenced by the ethnicities of the population. The top ethnicities are 42% British, 17% Canadian, 14% Ukrainian and 11% French (www.zoocasa.com) This makes Sherwood a real melting pot of diversity giving its inhabitants a uniqueness all its own, which makes for a interesting range of problems to overcome.

There are a multitude of resources we can access through the Internet, our own practitioner or the local library as well as community services. Whatever your situation and cultural background there is a local community service that can help with any circumstances we find ourselves facing. That one local resource is Family & Community Services (http://www.strathcona.ca/departments/family-community-services.aspx) This Strathcona County service covers a variety of social programs for a wide range of family problems from teens to the elderly and everything in-between, giving answers and support to best effect. You may be surprised how diverse the service is once you browse their web site and there is always a friendly voice on the other end of the phone.

In times of strife the ‘virtual’ options for social connections are not enough – face to face conversations and understanding means so much more and in the end leads to better resolution. So don’t feel isolated, there is help available within a stone’s throw.

Read Full Post »