my mother and my father. my father said he'll think about it. my mr sa s won't help. shtolde to talk to mfather. i'm sc. i don't know what to do. it isn't the role-playing th makes theoint, but the groudiscusons before and after that help thteenagers internalize these leons. d she t the kif help she was looking for from her parents? she didn't, so what happened? r plan didn't work, what did e need to do? what did she have to do? yes, terry? went to a counser. she saw counlor. what happened om there? e first time, she id that she had no moy, but they gave her lp. the social development project inlves the entire stf in thipron pross.

th ia meetingofhe mtal alt. th'ls a re fe he sool, pls for helping ghthde adst to ghchoo d thath five dayrlr of an 11-year-olstudent named trenton who was killed in a hit-and-runccident. where we stand now is, we had the wake yeerday, and a lot of students did go, particularlyis classmate the students asked to ke books and mateals and clude that as part of a memorial in thelassroom. i thk that had we not gone throu the process of letting them grieve, we probably would have seen a lot suspensions we probably wod have seen a high absence rate. we probably would have see children just stting down. but if you're going to educate children, teach children, you have to give them an opportunity to lease

the things that are thering them. nd to have some kind of ongoing support r the classroom there's a forum for them to talk about how they're feelg and to talk about things long beyond l the attention they're getting right now. these students meet week to share feelings about peop o have died- memethrough illness anotr ti through violce thd of internt can help prevent such disorders as major depression, adjustment dde and auma stress dorr. e membf e ment heah kkrol,ment dde e wanda, how did you feel when your stepfather died? i was sad anmad. were you close to him? he was the only person i could talk to when i had problems. what are some of the first feelings you have wh somebody dies in your mily

shock. what do you mean? what do you mean by shock? well, some pe fe shock. my instance--when my mother died, i felt like i didn't have no circulation. i just was mad, upset, angry. devon, you remember when your mom died? it was just painful. mm-hmm. that's all i can say. it was just painful. how old were you? how old i was? i think i was 7. how did you find out that she died? i knew she was dead when they called and my aunt started crying othe phone, so then i ew she was dead. that's all i can remember. do you remember her now? when there's a loss of a loved one,

there's a loss of a sense of support, of the--being valued. sometimes they feeabandonment and all kinds of feelings. those feelings can lead to depression, but if nothing else, they can lead to not being able to address the academic material, and their minds can be in oth place also, byaving the adults who are imrtant to them address ose issues, th feel supported by those adults, and those adults become people, then, that they can take instruction, leadership, and guidancerom because th'rimportant in their lives. research has demonstrated that the social development project is hing a sitive impact on the students' behaviors. each year uent behavior increases among young adolescent we find that students who have been in our program have maintained an equal lel

of involvement in delinquent behavior. in contrast, our ntrol groups have shown increases of almost 4o%. studies have also examined the number of times is intervention muste introduced to maximize its effectiveness. compared to other oups, gh graders who arned life sllin both a seventh gdes did siictltter seval are. their solutionre more lely to iol coromise and cooperation, rather than fighting. th had... ...and had more selfontrol. thsocial development project can't elimine the riskof adolescence, but the project is helping children to developowerful,fftive skills for negotiating life. if those skills continue to be develod and nurtured, they should serve the children into high school and bon

i've been laid off a little over two months. yoget to the stage-- you're out there. you're looking. what am i doing wrong? why am i not getting the responses that i should be? you start feeling a little depreed. you go through a lot of different changes. adult life is full of crises and challenges. our need for help in weathering those crises doesn't end after high school. we've really only just begun to realize at adus continue to develop. development isn't over when you're 18 years old, but continues throughout your whole life. develop diffent senses of ourselves. expience ansitions in our famial life and our work le, and th'rtransition that have to be negotiated.

those tranons n be negotiated espeally effectively wh tre social supports in the environment to help us do it ey're not always available, d ny times prevention programs simply provide that kind of soci support and affmation. ny unemployed people become depressednd anxious. severe ses, employment c rest stress-related illns like hh bld pressure and behavior suchsubstance use, falyiolence, or suici whato you re l wh y le job? u se me than income. you loseelatiohips you had with people at work. you lose self-esteem. you may lose the confidence that you can get back into the labor market, as well. dr. price and his colleagues at the university of michigan developed the jobs project-- preventive intervention for recently unemployed workers. the goal--to help strong people matain their strength

through th stressful period and to give those who need it spial skills. in this way, to get people back into good jobs and to prevent depression, anxiety, and other psychological disords. i thk en you first get la off, you thrgh man. you're madt yourself themploye you feel depreed and emasse i tnk. the jobs project staff recruits people the goal is fto prevent disorders, so the staff recruit people who don't already have seris psychogicaprlems. each group meets for five consecutive mornings. duringhis time, participan and trainers develop a rapport that is key the success the wkshops. this timwe're going to do a ro-play ast relates to somewho has had too ny jobs.

ro-playi gives particints ry t opportunity to practice handling the tough situations that may come dung the j hunt. joanna will apply for a factory foreman's job? rit. ok. and some ofbstacles that we'll addresss, you' be applying for a nontradional job, a male job. . knock, knock. here am. i'm wondering if you may have any questions or concerns about taking this type of pition because it does seem to be a nontraditional job. do you have any fears that if you get on to be the foreman, people reporting to you won't accept your authority? ll, i've heard that a lot, but i haveorked with men over the last five osix years. and i've got six brothe-- we've fought together, and we've lked,

and a real strong father figure in the home. some of the other jobs that i've had have involved supervising men. one of the things research has shown us is that if you can identify pontial obstacles early on and begin to become psychologically inoculated by planning alternative courses of action, yore much better able tcope when you auall encountethobstacle. some might think you're not 1oo% qualified for the job because you' a female in this envinment. i've heard those kind of statements befo, um, but what i really believe is that i can bring a lot to this job. i'm just as ifieas any m for factory foreman, and my experience will hold up-- the resumehat you have. i'responsie. i carry myself in a professional way. i want people to respect me,

so i'll respect whoever that is. i think my track record stands for itself. very good. thank you. it's not a psive thing you can learn from a book. it's a social achievement. another thing is that this is a kind of learning thatequires support from your colleagues as you go along, so there's encouragement for people in the learning process to support each other. u really sounded confident, and you didn't give in to the sexuality issue. you just handled that perfectly, and everything was really positive. thanks, keith. what did you all find useful about this? but yonevernk really confront them, but in this group we bring everything out. in t past week, we've brought out so much. just by listening to other people's fears, found out i had that fear, too.

i've diffused it so it's not a fear anymore. you feelonger. by the fifth morning, mo participants feel optimistic. now the trainers prepare them for setbacks, such as losing motivation or feeli depressed. through group problem-solving, these people learn a preventive strategy for anticipating such setbacks. let's think about what we could do when one of these problems comes up. m t gointo he thoblefeg a little depreed. that mayavhad in theast feing that way. bushould iet that way, i would plan to pull out my manual and review sof thosnotes. you also have to keep a positive perspective and force yourself to get up d do it and,ma plan and stick to it.

and you veo allow urself to get uto be depresd. for meo pretend i didn't feel awful to me is not right. realizing that you're going to have those periods where you feel a little down. what evidence is there that the jobs project actually prevents pressi and anxiety? after the initial se semars 1985, follow-up studies were done at oneonth, fo months, and 2 1/2 ars. the studies showed significant differences between thexrimental group ana control grou who just received a brhure about johunting. peopro e experintal oup shed lor levels ofiety and prsion anwere more lilyo re-employe in higr-ying re satisfyg jo. anwere more lilyo re-employe evhose pticipants who remained unemploye and er lels leofonfidence. the end, the jobs project showed that by building cing skills,

cial support and other protecti ftors unemployment was reduced. so were emotional problems that psychologists know often occur with job loss. an turns out that the finci benefits have been considerable, too. we found several things that we were really fairly surprised by. one was that the people who'd been in the jobs project were earngore money and had higher-quality jobs. furthermore, since they were ening me money, they were also paying more taxes-- more state taxes and more federal taxes if you looked at the increase in the amount of taxes that they paid even over that 2 1/2-yr period, the jobs project paid for itself inbout seven months. for the partipants, being with others in the same situatio has had benefits imssible to mease. en you getere, you len other people e in your situation.

it doesn't hap to ywhen i came here--i know you'i've got a lot gng for me, buwhen i camhe i hathat lacof cnce. i didn't kw what was g toappen in this group, t wee fiing one another, and i've lookeat just what i have complished, and now thtear are ars of j of opportuni at ie had, and i'm excited out goint and inthese ings toractice. when he became ill, i just had to take over. w like having who, iteadf grinup, lesanless able to me decions, rembdid ve haratig sometimes i just sat he batht and ced beuse of the fac- why did this happen

mrs.llon'susba died. matters worsed because hechildr lived f awa and she had suort system d age often relves aun such lses and proble, thoughot always. some older people are luckie because you all are very nice children, and god bless you all. elderly people who lack a strong support system like this are especiallyulnerable tossn and othe psychological disorders. ♪ happy birthday you ♪ happy birthday, dear mama ♪ happy birthday to you hiip, oray! so one iortant goa prevention to provide a sens community ere none exists. the final section of this docuntary

okat prenting disords likeressioinlder people by pifvi okat prenting disords in an, likeres hownlder people the creative oanization of those services caalso have a powerful preven eect. bertruger smith, a gerontogist, sathat services for the elderly existed in austin, but how they operated needed to be changed. i saw many small agencies working on behalf of oldeople, but working alone, spending most of their time and thought worrying about how tmake the month's rent not what kind of services they could provide. i saw agencies that had a sense of turfism. it was their agency, and they weren't going to work with any others. this i found very worrisome because we all had in mind the goal of doing the best we could for older people. it occurred to several of us who stayed the course

that if we could get these agencies working together, maybe if they lived together, in a sense, if we could get offices that were adjoinin ey could begin to talk with one another, work with one another, the total woulbe much greater than any of them could achieve tmselves. [music playing] family eldercare information and ferral. i y? enter a.g.e.-- austin groups for the elderly, more than agencies housed in one ildi, all with a different mission, yet coordinated to cer aide sptrum of activities and services for older people. in just its first two years, a. served over 24,ooo people.

everything from the gray panthers of austin the seniors' respitservic is availle in this building. each organization has specific goals, often preventive in nature. elderhavens day-care center for about 35 adults. ey'd go to church. i'd untie that sk and some chicken. did you ever get caught? your grandfather raised you? some clients are unable to care for themselves adequately. others have been abused and need shelter. this, combined with other services, is aalternative to institutionalization. without the structure provided by austin groups for the elderly, older people often get lost in the social service system. this structure in itself is preventive. ey may go to one agency and find out that agency can't help them, anthen they are mod from any kind of help. we can't document prevention,

but what really happens then is they goack to their home. they become increasingly impaired. whatever has been the problem becomes worse, and finally they probably have too to some long-term-care facility-- maybe prematurely, maybe at great cost to t community or to other resources, because they haven't been able to be helped at a primary point where they could have functioned for much longer. several mutual help groups meet at a.g.e. th offer a psychological safety net to people undergoing difficult life circumstances. and i couldn't believe anody else would get caught in a mess like i was in. i love the baby, and he needed protecting. he needed caring, but i also knew that i wasn't gngo be able to get hnto sc and the doctor and everything unless i had custody,

so i would have face my n son and the child's mother. throup icalled grandpen raingrdchildre sotimes the dchildren were abud or abaoned. in other cases, occasional babysitting turned into full-time parenting. i had been through 2 1/2 years of pure, unadulterated hell, as far as i was concerned. then to walk into a room and everybody knew how i felt-- they understood why i wanted to cry one minute and laugh one nute, why i was mad, who i was mad at, why i felt guilty. n't you think it's kind of instant acceptance? we're all standing in the same shoes. another service is a hot lin call information and referral for der adts-- part of family eldercare, incorporated. you need transportation to a doctor's appointment? austin gups for the elderly

coornate their efforts and consolidate their expenses, making it lessostly for everyone. it gives them money to use for programs. here they have common areas. they have copying machines-- all the kinds of things that are available to them without any extra cost, so that should give them more money for their own programs. we have centralized services so that ery one of them doesn't need a computer, typewriter, secretary, et cetera, and th's a saving. a theme that cuts across all the agencies is old people working with young people. for instance, older adults are hired to care for the children who attend this day-care center. ose ildren are bnging w life tthesr pele. about their own decline they aren't focung on morbid idea or their pending death in the future

or whatever is bothering them. many othe people benefiting from austin gups for the elderly are actually those work tre as lunteers. like julia young, many experiencedhe losses of older a. well, at fst, i just knew i was going to enj it because i had be off once before with illness and i enjoyed being off, so when i retired, i figur this was really going to be . i'd seall stories, and i was just going do nothin but i found at doing nothing wasn't what reallyoy doing, beuse at times i'd think i was sick. i would have pains thateally weren't there. as youtart to sink into thasortf cycle, you begin to feel sorry for yourself, to think youe not worth much. you may t very tired, not sleep well.

the are a riety of tngs that can happen that are beginning symptoms of depression go to the store, i'd feel better. ju get on the telephone, i'd feel bette so i found out that stayingt me wasn't for me. i've worked all my life. i guess i'm a people person. i eny beinound people. when'm around them, i forget myself. you're putti youelf out for others, but you're gting a lot back. it means that yourself as aeing but you're gting a lot back. isorth something. it reinforces that in your own mi even though you may not be conscious of it. the volunteer who is successfully moving out anheing others has more to gain from it than what they give in the way of self-esteem and good mental health. you'll get something here that's really tough.

someone's parent sho thsigns oflzim's and theyo longer cakeep them at home, or else fit they ne day carfor them. well, yoknow, th could be me, and itould be my children, and yojustow, forget yourself, and getting into that book and telling them all e things that available, you just forget about yourself and become involved in other things. with tremendous effort and determination, thcies of aust groups for the derly ve been ableo coorna their efs in service of older people, younger people, and the continued life of the ancies themselves. i'd like tget barefoot and take off my clothes. as people at a.g.e. say, sometimes just a conversation in the hallway can change a life. tens of millions of americans will be dysfunctional at some point in their lives.

depressi, anxiety, substance abuse, violent behavior-- all cost great pain and discomfort. families are torn apart. individuals ffer for years. the financial cost of this is also high. billions of dollars are wasted in lost productivity, billions more spent in direct mental health care by corporations, the government, insurance companies, and individuals, which is why the money that is spent on prevention, no matter how high it may have to be, seems worth it to many experts. if you don't function well, it cts society more in the long run. it's much better for the society to pay to help people function than to pay to deal th the problems that grow out not functioning. the cost of depression, the cost of acting out-- acting-up kinds of behaviors is just enormous,

and we underestimate it all thtime. evenon can work. avance, e social develoent projec the jobsject, and austin groups for the elderly. taken across the life span day by day,t, prevention strategies help guard against some of the terrible psychological disorders th can act us al and these rategies prove psychologi urisent at we kn lo sounmealearategies captioning performed by the nation captioning institute, inc. captions copyright 1991 alvin h. perlmutte

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