Displaced Homemakers

Newly sober, recently divorced and still homeless, Gilda Patterson was riding a bus to the unemployment office one day in March, trying to re-enter the job market at age 45."I was outlining a resume. The woman sitting next to me said she had gone to Maryland New Directions and they assisted her with her resume," the Baltimore woman said.She walked into the community agency's offices on NorthCharles Street in Baltimore, asked for help with a resume, and got much more: career planning, a gradual boost in her self-esteem, help returning to school and advice on how to get the electricity turned back on when she had trouble paying the bill.

Taking life in a new directionSuccess: Caterer Marian Fletcher is an example of what someone can do after career counseling and business training.Marian Fletcher deploys her catering forces like a genial general on a culinary campaign.She serves chicken Marianne at $10 a plate for a budget banquet, or a $500 cake that matches the bride's dress for a plush wedding, or an intimate $100 anniversary dinner for two complete with champagne and a tuxedoed waiter. She'll even offer a kosher-style menu of nearly 50 items, from chopped liver to yom tov lokshen kugel.

A scholarship fund for displaced homemakers has been established at Anne Arundel Community College in the name of Carole B. Baker, the United Way of Central Maryland's manager of regional services and former eight-year member of the Anne Arundel County Council.The Carole B. Baker Endowed Scholarship Fund for Displaced Homemakers will be awarded to a displaced homemaker who would be unable to attend the community college otherwise. The fund will pay for tuition and fees, textbooks, child care and transportation.

Newly sober, recently divorced and still homeless, Gilda Patterson was riding a bus to the unemployment office one day in March, trying to re-enter the job market at age 45."I was outlining a resume. The woman sitting next to me said she had gone to Maryland New Directions and they assisted her with her resume," the Baltimore woman said.She walked into the community agency's offices on NorthCharles Street in Baltimore, asked for help with a resume, and got much more: career planning, a gradual boost in her self-esteem, help returning to school and advice on how to get the electricity turned back on when she had trouble paying the bill.

Adult single parents, displaced homemakers and single pregnant womenresiding in Anne Arundel County may be entitled to a tuition assistance grant from the Maryland Department of Education, Division of Careers and Technology Education.The Annapolis YWCA recently was awarded this grant and will use it to help pay for up to 18 credit or non-credit hours with a limit of three courses per semester. Assistance can include tuition, books and associated fees. To qualify, courses must be career-related and directed toward a specific career goal.

Theodora A. "Teddy" Stephen offers directions to those who find themselves at career crossroads.With 26 years' experience as a state employee, Ms. Stephen, the manager of the county office of the state Department of Economic and Employment Development (DEED), has helped many unemployed people redirect their skills and find jobs.For her efforts with displaced homemakers, she received the "Partners in Change Award" yesterday at Carroll Community College.Sherry Glass, director of the college's Displaced Homemaker Program, recommended Ms. Stephen for the award, one of 50 given nationwide.

A scholarship fund in the name of former County Councilwoman Carole B.Baker is being created at Anne Arundel Community College to help displaced homemakers.Letters soliciting contributions to the "Carole Baker Endowed Displaced Homemakers Scholarship" were sent out this week and signed by County Executive Robert R. Neall and his predecessor, O. James Lighthizer, honorary co-chairmen of the scholarship fund.Neall and Lighthizer were asked to serve as co-chairmen by a group of Baker's friends and supporters who decided to found the endowment as a way to honor the former councilwoman, said Baker, who learned of the scholarship fund at a luncheon last week.

In his years as the Baltimore area's most vocal crusader for "men's rights," Kauko H. Kokkonen has challenged the very notion of women's colleges, the Maryland Commission for Women and the YWCA.Now he'sturning his attention to a recently established endowment to provideAnne Arundel Community College scholarships to "displaced homemakers."But former county councilwoman Carole B. Baker says Kokkonen may be revealing his own sexist attitudes when he complains that the Carole Baker Endowed Displaced Homemakers Scholarship is for ladies only.

The Thanksgiving leftovers are barely gone and the Christmas season is in full swing.It's a hectic time of year, marked by gift-buying, holiday parties and family celebrations.And for many people who are dealing with the death of a loved one or another significant loss or life change, the holidays also can be a particularly difficult time of year.But those who are experiencing feelings of depression and loneliness don't have to suffer through the season. Several Carroll organizations are offering workshops to help people cope with holiday-related stress.

IT HAPPENED about a year ago. He left her for a younger woman. Judy is 62. They'd been married 44 years."It's been a terrible time," she tells me on the phone. "Because now I am having some guilt about how much of it was my fault. I wasn't pretty enough, sexy enough, I needed a face lift, I wasn't interesting enough. I did volunteer work, but I had never had a real career, there was never time, I was too busy raising our five children."Then she added the kicker, "You see, when you are a widow you get sympathy, at least for a while.

The Thanksgiving leftovers are barely gone and the Christmas season is in full swing.It's a hectic time of year, marked by gift-buying, holiday parties and family celebrations.And for many people who are dealing with the death of a loved one or another significant loss or life change, the holidays also can be a particularly difficult time of year.But those who are experiencing feelings of depression and loneliness don't have to suffer through the season. Several Carroll organizations are offering workshops to help people cope with holiday-related stress.

Theodora A. "Teddy" Stephen offers directions to those who find themselves at career crossroads.With 26 years' experience as a state employee, Ms. Stephen, the manager of the county office of the state Department of Economic and Employment Development (DEED), has helped many unemployed people redirect their skills and find jobs.For her efforts with displaced homemakers, she received the "Partners in Change Award" yesterday at Carroll Community College.Sherry Glass, director of the college's Displaced Homemaker Program, recommended Ms. Stephen for the award, one of 50 given nationwide.

Adult single parents, displaced homemakers and single pregnant womenresiding in Anne Arundel County may be entitled to a tuition assistance grant from the Maryland Department of Education, Division of Careers and Technology Education.The Annapolis YWCA recently was awarded this grant and will use it to help pay for up to 18 credit or non-credit hours with a limit of three courses per semester. Assistance can include tuition, books and associated fees. To qualify, courses must be career-related and directed toward a specific career goal.

Career Workshops at YWCA Women's Centers deal with self-exploration,skills identification and research tools, resume writing, job-hunting strategies and interviewing techniques.The fee is $40 for all six workshops, interest testings, interview rehearsals or video, access to the INFORM system, employer and career information and individual career advising.There is a sliding fee scale, starting at free tuition, for displaced homemakers and those over age 30 who have lost their main sourceof income through separation, divorce, death or disability of a spouse.

In his years as the Baltimore area's most vocal crusader for "men's rights," Kauko H. Kokkonen has challenged the very notion of women's colleges, the Maryland Commission for Women and the YWCA.Now he'sturning his attention to a recently established endowment to provideAnne Arundel Community College scholarships to "displaced homemakers."But former county councilwoman Carole B. Baker says Kokkonen may be revealing his own sexist attitudes when he complains that the Carole Baker Endowed Displaced Homemakers Scholarship is for ladies only.

A scholarship fund for displaced homemakers has been established at Anne Arundel Community College in the name of Carole B. Baker, the United Way of Central Maryland's manager of regional services and former eight-year member of the Anne Arundel County Council.The Carole B. Baker Endowed Scholarship Fund for Displaced Homemakers will be awarded to a displaced homemaker who would be unable to attend the community college otherwise. The fund will pay for tuition and fees, textbooks, child care and transportation.

Career Workshops at YWCA Women's Centers deal with self-exploration,skills identification and research tools, resume writing, job-hunting strategies and interviewing techniques.The fee is $40 for all six workshops, interest testings, interview rehearsals or video, access to the INFORM system, employer and career information and individual career advising.There is a sliding fee scale, starting at free tuition, for displaced homemakers and those over age 30 who have lost their main sourceof income through separation, divorce, death or disability of a spouse.

Taking life in a new directionSuccess: Caterer Marian Fletcher is an example of what someone can do after career counseling and business training.Marian Fletcher deploys her catering forces like a genial general on a culinary campaign.She serves chicken Marianne at $10 a plate for a budget banquet, or a $500 cake that matches the bride's dress for a plush wedding, or an intimate $100 anniversary dinner for two complete with champagne and a tuxedoed waiter. She'll even offer a kosher-style menu of nearly 50 items, from chopped liver to yom tov lokshen kugel.

A scholarship fund in the name of former County Councilwoman Carole B.Baker is being created at Anne Arundel Community College to help displaced homemakers.Letters soliciting contributions to the "Carole Baker Endowed Displaced Homemakers Scholarship" were sent out this week and signed by County Executive Robert R. Neall and his predecessor, O. James Lighthizer, honorary co-chairmen of the scholarship fund.Neall and Lighthizer were asked to serve as co-chairmen by a group of Baker's friends and supporters who decided to found the endowment as a way to honor the former councilwoman, said Baker, who learned of the scholarship fund at a luncheon last week.

IT HAPPENED about a year ago. He left her for a younger woman. Judy is 62. They'd been married 44 years."It's been a terrible time," she tells me on the phone. "Because now I am having some guilt about how much of it was my fault. I wasn't pretty enough, sexy enough, I needed a face lift, I wasn't interesting enough. I did volunteer work, but I had never had a real career, there was never time, I was too busy raising our five children."Then she added the kicker, "You see, when you are a widow you get sympathy, at least for a while.