Support Groups

Craig McGruder tilts his head to hear a plea for help in the heart of Watts. "I've got trouble," says a guy who used to run with the Grape Street Crips. "Been thinking about doing some dirt. Thinking about robbing so I can get my kids the school supplies they need. " McGruder understands trouble. He'd grown up with most of the men meeting in this white-walled community center on a midsummer night. Some had been dealers who'd sold him crack when he was at his lowest, skulking around Jordan Downs, where he'd been born in 1962 and never much left.

Craig McGruder tilts his head to hear a plea for help in the heart of Watts. "I've got trouble," says a guy who used to run with the Grape Street Crips. "Been thinking about doing some dirt. Thinking about robbing so I can get my kids the school supplies they need. " McGruder understands trouble. He'd grown up with most of the men meeting in this white-walled community center on a midsummer night. Some had been dealers who'd sold him crack when he was at his lowest, skulking around Jordan Downs, where he'd been born in 1962 and never much left.

Michelle Ellis works and lives in Mission Viejo. But home for Ellis, 23, and her 10-month-old son, Ryan, is not one of the expensive houses that have mushroomed in this sprawling, affluent South County community. It's her tan 1983 Toyota Camry parked on the street in front of the home where she works as a housekeeper during the day. Ellis is among a growing number of low-income single mothers who can no longer afford the high cost of housing and child care in South County.

Brandon Ty Garner died on the day he was born: July 1, 2011. He came into the world at 24 weeks, 5 days. His lungs hadn't developed. He lived for six hours. Very few people ever saw him. Nearly a year and a half later, his parents remain swaddled in grief. They visit his grave twice a week, even though it's an hour's drive from their Menifee home, and decorate it for each holiday he cannot share with them. Full coverage: City Beat Recently they put up a small Christmas tree, full of colorful lights and ornaments.

BNI, an international networking organization specializing in business referrals among members, is opening a chapter in Camarillo. BNI was founded in 1985 by Ivan R. Misner, author of "The World's Best Known Marketing Secret," "Seven Second Marketing," and "Business by Referral." "Our style of networking is based on the philosophy [that] givers gain--if I help you, then you'll help me and we'll all do better business," Misner said. The Camarillo group is having its first meeting at 7 a.m.

Last winter, Paul Petersen was awakened by a frantic call. "It was this kid calling from the Roxy," recalls Petersen, 48, an author and onetime child actor who played Jeff on "The Donna Reed Show" from 1958 through 1966. "He said he saw River Phoenix in one of the nightclub's bathroom stalls shooting heroin." Petersen, who for four years has been organizing support groups for former child stars and the pressure they face in an often indifferent Hollywood, sprang into action.

After Karen Crowe gave birth earlier this month to conjoined twins, the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital began receiving flowers, cards and telephone messages from well-wishers who sympathized. Only a few of the well-wishers, however, could actually empathize. Through a fluke of nature, Crowe had become the newest member of one of the world's rarest sororities of motherhood.

Free groups are available throughout Ventura County for the family and friends of personnel serving in the armed forces in the Persian Gulf. Group Time Information Spanish speaking Clinicas del Pending Dr. Rosalinda Espinoza Camino Real 647-6322 Camarillo United Methodist Sunday, 6 p.m. Rev. Sandy Liddell Church 291 Anacapa Drive 482-4312 St. Columba's Thursday, noon 482-8831 Episcopal Church 1251 E.

Those dealing with loss can seek comfort and hope through bereavement classes and support groups offered by two Orange County religious organizations. Irvine Presbyterian Church is offering a bereavement class called "Overcoming Your Loss" for those who have lost loved ones, careers or financial security.

While long-term counseling for people who test HIV positive is limited, a number of organizations have formed support groups. The Women's AIDS Project, part of the Wholistic Health for Women center in West Hollywood, has support groups for women who test positive. Information: (213) 650-1508. The Edelman Health Center in Hollywood, part of the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, has several groups, including one for people who are developing symptoms of AIDS. Information: (213) 464-7400.

LACMA body set to quit Diana Gutman, chairwoman of the Art Museum Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, reports that her 40-member board has voted unanimously to stop volunteering at the museum next year because of its plans to nearly triple council members' fees. As the museum announced this week, members who once paid a minimum of $400 to participate on various councils (or $450 for this particular council) will be required to pay $1,000 plus a $250 membership fee starting next June.

Diana Gutman, chairwoman of the Art Museum Council at LACMA, says the group's 40-member board has voted unanimously to stop volunteering at the museum next year because of its plans to triple council members' fees .  As the museum announced this week, members who once paid a minimum of $400 to participate on various councils (or $450 for this particular council) will be required to pay $1,000 plus a $250-level membership starting next June. The Art Museum Council, which has some 200 members, is one of 10 such museum support groups -- the only one raising money for museum acquisitions and exhibitions across the board and not for a specific department.

Each day at 5 a.m., Denise Peace rises and begins the task of waking and feeding five grandchildren, ages 2 to 17, and shepherding them out the door of her cramped but miraculously neat apartment in Brooklyn. The 5-year-old needs to be on his school bus by 6:26. The eldest has to catch a 7 a.m. train. The 4-year-old must be walked to school in time for the 8:10 bell. The 2-year-old plays while Peace prepares the 3-year-old for day care. In the early afternoon, she reverses the drill, fetching children from bus stops and schools and getting them home for dinner, baths and bed. Peace collapses about 9 p.m. "Then I just start all over again," the 56-year-old said of the moment when her alarm sounds the next morning.

I recently had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from my breast and will soon be starting chemotherapy. I was surprised by the amount of medication I was told to take before I begin chemo, including anti-nausea and allergy medications. I'm wondering if this is common. How are patients typically prepared for chemo treatment? Anti-nausea and anti-allergy medications are routinely given to breast cancer patients preparing for chemotherapy, says Dr. Christy A. Russell, co-director of the breast center at USC Norris Cancer Hospital and past president of the California division of the American Cancer Society.

Breaking with a long-standing unwritten policy, President Obama announced Wednesday that he would send condolence letters to families of military service members who commit suicide or die of an accident in a combat zone. "This issue is emotional, painful and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely," Obama said of the suicide deaths in a statement. "They didn't die because they are weak. And the fact that they didn't get the help they needed must change. " The White House said the decision to alter the long-standing practice of honoring only combat deaths came after "a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy.

Dr. Modest: OK, everyone. Over-exposers Anonymous will come to order. It's good to see some of you sticking with your program. I see Sarah P. and LeBron J. holding steady. I admired that because I know you don't like to be here. And I'm hoping tonight we might hear from our newest member, Anthony W. We all know what it's like to be over-exposed in the media. We're here to learn how to keep it real by keeping it sealed. Taking a break from your mouth, your Twitter, your blog, your Tumblr page.

Martin Miller's story on "Group Helps Aerospace Workers Cope With Layoffs" (Times, Dec. 4) acknowledged an important need for support for those laid off or fearful of losing their jobs. The article did not acknowledge that one of the support groups featured is part of an ongoing program at Temple Menorah in Redondo Beach. Since a relatively small percentage of workers qualify for outplacement services, churches and synagogues have an opportunity and perhaps even a responsibility to help their members manage this painful transition with strength and confidence, with the goal of obtaining a brighter future.

The UCI Clinical Cancer Center is providing free support groups to cancer patients and their families, regardless of where they have received treatment. The groups are sponsored by the cancer rehabilitation program at the Clinical Cancer Center in Orange. The support groups include: - Adults--Meets with a licensed social worker Tuesdays from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the UCI Medical Library, Room 212. Call: (714) 634-5644. - Spanish-speaking adult patients and family--Meets Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Authorities at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, regarded Pakistan's national intelligence agency, or ISI, as either involved in or supporting terrorism, according to leaked documents made public Monday, a designation that could anger leaders in the nuclear-armed Muslim country and worsen a relationship already marred by deep distrust. Reports linking the ISI to terrorist groups and extremist organizations are nothing new. Just last week in a visit to Pakistan, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, bluntly raised the allegation that the ISI has ties to the Haqqani network, an Afghan Taliban wing.

Reporting from Tucson ? The season is long, and the road is lonely. The fraternity of baseball lifers bonds in creaky old ballparks and chain restaurants, scouts and coaches leaning on one another when the comforts of home are far away. P.J. Carey gave his adult life to baseball, more than three decades of working with young players from Casper, Wyo., to Spartanburg, S.C. Carey was working in the Dodgers' front office last year, as an advisor in the minor league department, when he and his wife each were diagnosed with cancer.