Center gives women chance to map lives
Meg Alexander — Staff WriterFAIRMONT - Much has changed for women over the past 30 years, but many still find themselves struggling with the same issues as previous generations.
"There still are stay-at-home mothers," said Christine Olson, peer counselor with Life Work Planning Center, a nonprofit agency that works with women on personal growth and development. "If somebody is going to take off a few years to take care of the children, it's generally the woman."
The planning center began in the 1970s in an effort to help displaced homemakers, the term Olson used to define "someone who has relied for most of their family income on someone else and now through death, or divorce or spouse's disability, they are now in a position where they need to provide for their own livelihood or that of their children."
"Now you're not the homemaker anymore," she said. "You're the breadmaker, so you've been displaced as a homemaker."
Today, the planning center has expanded its focus to help women of all all ages and backgrounds.
Maybe they're young, just graduating from college and not sure what to do next, or perhaps they've been in the same job for years and just don't like their work. Or maybe they're nearing retirement, and they're uncertain how they want to spend the rest of their life.
"I meet with women and I find out what they want to do," Olson said. "... I give workshops and I do one-to-one and I help people figure out where they want to go from here."
With the economy hurting, the need for her agency's services has only increased since it was founded.
"We've been around over 30 years," Olson said. At that time, society was just realizing "there were a lot of women who previously had not worked outside the home and now were needing to. And they didn't really have the confidence to be in the workplace. Now we think, of course, we have confidence."
And many women have found that confidence, but many still struggle with self-esteem. Olson believes confidence is key more than ever during these hard economic times.
"It doesn't mean if you come to our workshop you're going to magically get a job, but it does make people more confident they can handle whatever's going to be on their plates, because those plates have become more difficult to handle," she said.
The next local workshop Olson will host is "Personal Growth and Career Development," beginning Sept. 16. The 10-week course will continue, meeting every Wednesday at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Fairmont.
She also is holding an eight-week "Over 50? Time to Create the Life You Love" series, starting Sept. 28 at Five Lakes Elementary School in Fairmont.
For more information, call (800) 505-9073 or visit the Web site at www.lwpc.org
"We have a tried-and-true curriculum that takes women through personal growth issues. ... It's not magic, but it works," Olson said.
Women at the workshops talk about transitions and self-esteem. They cover boundaries and assertive communication. They take interest inventories and work on personality styles. Women might work on resumes and job-hunting skills, or research going back to college. The planning center does not do job placement or psychological counseling, though referrals are often made.
"We look at what kind of skills people really enjoy using," Olson said. "It's a curriculum but it all comes from the participant. It depends on their level of interest as to what they get out of it. We don't try to tell anybody what to do."
Olson herself was a participant at one time, 20-some years ago, when she wanted help with her resume after deciding to close the cafe she owned.
"I didn't want to go through a workshop series with a bunch of women," she admitted. "... But it was really helpful."
And that's how she got her job. After the planning center saw her business background and her knowledge of available programs, she was hired part time and worked her way into her current position.
"It's just personally fulfilling for me to see people gain enthusiasm with their life," she said.
