Current statistics indicate that approximately 50% of all marriages end in divorce. But, statistics are merely cold, hard numbers. Numbers do not have feelings; they are not women. Numbers can never describe the mental anguish of near destitute single mothers, abused women, nor women left to support themselves without marketable skills. Not included in divorce statistics is the heartbreak of sudden widowhood, nor the pain of women who remain in unhappy and often harmful marriages. The list goes on. The image is bleak, but the future need not be without hope.
Many of these women are hardly able to put food on the table and provide shelter for their families. Hope and healing, gifts that supportive therapy can bring, are often far out of their financial reach. Women rarely put themselves first or even place their own needs in the hierarchy of concerns. But, research tells us that when we don’t take care of ourselves, when we are not emotionally and physically healthy, we are incapable of successfully caring for others.
The Silent Samaritan Fund was created to provide counseling to women without financial ability to access the support of a professional therapist. Here at the Samaritan Center we are currently subsidizing approximately $2,000 each month in therapy for women. This is merely the tip of the iceberg. Again the statistics are shocking: 1 out of 5 people will experience a severe clinical depression in at some time in their life; 1 in 15 will warrant hospitalization. And more frightening still is the fact that depression is twice as prevalent in women as in men.
Please help us to support the women in our own communities by donating to the Silent Samaritan Fund. Each $100 donation can provide three counseling sessions to a woman in need of support. If you are unable to give $100, but would like to help, any amount you can give will be of great assistance to the women we help. We know how much these women appreciate the care and support of people in their own communities. You may use the enclosed envelope for your donation, or visit our website at www.northshoresamaritan.org.
And, watch your spring mail for information about a forthcoming event at the Samaritan Counseling Center designed to honor our donors, tour our Winnetka offices, and meet our extremely capable counseling staff. All Samaritan Center events are privately underwritten so that all donations go directly to women in need.
