Health and Human Sciences

The Strengthening Families Program: For Parent and Youth 10-14 is an evidence-based program that can help prevent teen substance abuse and other behavior problems, strengthen parent/youth communication skills, increase academic success in youth, help teach youth skills for dealing with stress and peer pressure, prevent violence, and aggressive behavior at home and at school. Ranked as the #1 prevention program out of 6,000 analyzed by the World Health Organization, the Strengthening Families Program consists of 7, 2-hr. long classes comprising of youth, parent, and family sessions.

Session topics included:

• Love & Limits
• Dreams & Goals
• House Rules
• Appreciating Parents
• Encouraging Positive Behavior
• Dealing with Stress
• Following Rules & Using Consequences
• Peer Pressure

For more information, visit https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/extension/strengthening-families-program-for-parents-and-youth-10-14-post-editable/

Each year, about 659,000 people in the United States die from heart disease, that’s 1 of every 4 deaths (CDC)! Purdue Extension’s Be Heart Smart Program helps individuals learn information to prevent and reduce their risk of developing heart disease. Over the course of four lessons, participants will learn about the risk factors associated with heart disease, important numbers to know, heart-healthy eating, and how to make sustainable heart-healthy lifestyle changes.

Be Heart Smart cost $15 to attend. For more information, visit:  https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/extension/program6/

According to Gallup, only 1 in 3 Americans use a budget and 30% have a long-term financial plan involving savings and investments for the future. Where Does Your Money Go? Program is designed to help consumers better understand how to spend their money. Taught over two, one-hour sessions, participants learn about financial management practices such as needs vs wants, writing goals, tracking expenses, identifying spending leaks, and how to develop a spending-savings plan. Furthermore, program activities help participants increase their knowledge of money management practices that promote financial stability and adoption of new habits that can lead to financial control.

According to the National Diabetes Statistics Report 2020, 34.2 million Americans have diabetes and another 88 million have prediabetes (CDC). Furthermore, people who have diabetes are 2.3 more likely to have greater healthcare cost than people who don’t have diabetes.

The Dining with Diabetes Program is a designed to assist and support individuals who have diabetes as well as their families to help reduce the burden of diabetes by increasing knowledge of healthy foods, tips to prepare quick, healthy, and tasty foods, demonstrating proper cooking techniques, promoting physical activity, building confidence, and providing opportunities for participants to learn from one another.

The cost to attend Dining with Diabetes is $40 per individual or $65 per couple. To learn more about Dining with Diabetes, visit: https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/extension/programs-food-0/#dining-with-diabetes

Hello everyone. We’re halfway through the year. Hope this finds everyone happy and full of energy!
Be sure to check our website: www.extension.purdue.edu/vigo and our FB page: Vigo County Extension Homemakers for news and updates.

DATES TO REMEMBER

January, 2026 Nominating Committee Meeting (TBA)
January 27th, Tuesday Sewing Day
February 2nd, Monday Council meeting
February 9th, Monday Past Presidents Meeting; 11 a.m.; Cackleberries;
7th & Poplar Streets
February 15th, Sunday First Timer Award app due to County President
March 10th, Tuesday Sewing Day
April 9th, Thursday Spring District Meeting (Vermillion Co.)
April 13th, Monday Past Presidents Meeting
April 27th, Monday Spring Fling
May 4th, Monday Council Meeting
June 8th, Monday Past Presidents Meeting
June 15th -17th, Monday – Wednesday Home & Family State Conference
June 22nd, Monday Achievement Day
October 1st, Thursday…..Fall District (Vigo Co.)

STATE PRESIDENT’S PROJECT

I’m asking all club presidents to come to our February Council and report how your club is doing on her “Share Some Bloom(er)s” project. Remember to count how many items you donate to schools, nursing homes, youth centers, etc. I need to turn in another report in February.

SEWING DAY

I want to remind everyone that this is a county wide event. I’m pleased with the volunteers so far this year, but I’d like to see more members come and help. We did reach 100 Christmas stockings this year. Union Hospital is very happy with our effort. Now we will concentrate on sewing receiving blankets and burp cloths. Also, we have yarn available for our crochet octopuses. If any of our members, or a person they know can crochet, please ask them for their assistance and ask them to come this 27th.

UNION HOSPITAL

Union Hospital had the Executive Board meet with them on Tuesday, November 25th to talk about our 50 Years of Service to the hospital. Georgia Hunt posted on our Face Book page the article they sent out in the Union Health Newsletter. Hope you all have looked at it.

EDUCATOR SPOTLIGHT
January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in the United States, yet as many as half of the people who have it don’t know they are affected.

Glaucoma is not just one disease. It is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve. Most types of glaucoma are linked to intraocular pressure, although some people develop glaucoma even with normal eye pressure.

It is estimated that over 4 million adults in the United States have glaucoma, and more than 1.4 million already have vision loss from the disease. Globally, glaucoma affects an estimated 80 million people, a number expected to rise as populations age. There’s no cure, but early detection and treatment can slow or prevent further vision loss. Glaucoma is called the silent thief of sight because the most com-mon form, primary open-angle glaucoma, usually has no early warning signs. Vision changes start slow-ly, usually with side (peripheral) vision. People often compensate without realizing it, by the time central vision is affected, optic nerve damage is permanent.

Early symptoms can be very gradual, but some of those early signs can be: Slowly worsening peripheral (side) vision, Trouble seeing in dim light, Mildly blurred or patchy vision in one or both eyes, and Fre-quent prescription changes that don’t fully fix your vision.

Take control of your eye health by following these essential steps: Get a Comprehensive Dilated Eye Ex-am, Know Your Family History, Manage Underlying Health, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and Live a Healthy Lifestyle.

For more information about Glaucoma, Risk Factors, and Symptoms, go to the Glaucoma Research Foundation’s website at: https://glaucoma.org/ or contact Gail at (812)462-3371 or wrigh509@purdue.edu.