A support group for women coping with changes in their lives will begin today.

“The Turning Point: A Program for Women in Transition” will be offered on Tuesday afternoons for eight weeks.

The group will meet at 4:30 p.m. in the Wirtz House, and the sessions will end in time for students with 6 p.m. classes.

The seminars, offered by the Office of University Resources for Women, will run through March 29.

“The Turning Point” is a structured group experience with sessions revolving around life skills.

“We work with the women to try to give them coping skills. That’s where the support comes in,” said Cindy Evans, Women’s Resources office graduate assistant.

Approaches to stress management, improved communication and financial management are other skills which will be emphasized at the sessions.

Evans said, “Sometimes I help the women with their finances.”

The women’s resource office serves returning women students who have been out of the academic system for a period of time and are coming back to either begin or complete a degree.

The women represent the older student body who might find themselves feeling alone in classes with traditional 18- to 22-year-old students, Evans said.

Betty Baugh, administrative assistant for the Women’s Resources Office, said, “Sometimes there are males who come here because they are also adult returning students.

“It just so happens that most adult returning students are women,” Baugh said.

A full-time coordinator and a graduate assistant provide the counseling and organizational aspects of the program.

The office researches the current needs of returning women students and implements programs to meet those needs utilizing the talents and resources on campus and in the community.

Sharon Howard, University Resources for Women director, said, “The office tries to work with the prospective returning student—the student who is asking herself, ‘What will this do to my family, and should I return?'”

Evans said, “This particular program is widely used on college campuses and has been very well received here at NIU. People respond, and that’s why we continue doing it.”