Messiah College hosts conference on responding to family trauma
September 22nd, 2008
GRANTHAM, Pa. (Sept. 22, 2008) — The 18th Annual Building Strong Families conference, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Council on Family Relations and supporting universities and agencies, will take place on Oct. 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Boyer Hall Academic Building located on Messiah College’s Grantham campus. The conference includes a sit-down lunch for attendees; a keynote address by Gary Bowen, distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina; a human services fair; a student poster session; and numerous workshops and presentations by chosen speakers. The conference’s specific focus is responding to families in trauma. This theme will be explored through a series of interactive, applied workshop presentations. Topics will include divorce, loss, financial issues, challenges for military families, natural disasters and several other issues. The cost is $30 for students and $60 for other participants. Continuing education units are also offered for various professions. Reservations for those wishing to attend and may be made at www.messiah.edu/bsf.
Bowen holds appointments at the University of North Carolina as well as Duke University. His work focuses on family and community life in the U.S. Air Force. Bowen is also co-author of the series “Families in Blues.” In addition to teaching, Bowen serves as president-elect of the National Council on Family Relations and is a member of the Research Council for America’s Promise. He will present his lecture, “Military Family Resiliency and Community Capacity Building in the Shadows of War: Implications for Policy and Practice” at 1:45-2:45 p.m.
About the Building Strong Families Conference
The Building Strong Families Conference, approaching its second decade in existence, focuses on the critical role of families in culture, seeking to encourage the study of families and to promote family life education. Conferences in the past have touched on topics ranging from families surviving loss, to men in families, raising children in a diverse society and relationships among persons over 50 years of age. Sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Council on Family Relations, the regional affiliate of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), the conference’s supporters and leaders make their goal “to promote and coordinate educational efforts to help and strengthen families; to further effective social action promoting strong, diverse and vibrant families.”
About Messiah College
Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls more than 2,800 undergraduate students in 60 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.