FuturoNow boasts a highly successful year providing culturally appropriate marriage education programs for couples and individuals within the Los Angeles area. For the first year ending September 30th, the total number who participated in programs sponsored by the organization include:

• High school teens: 1,114
• Single adults: 591
• Married individuals: 2,126
• Mentoring services for married individuals: 249
• Leaders certified to provide training: 171

More than 90 percent of all adult participants and 80 percent of all teenagers rated the various workshops offered by FuturoNow as "excellent."

In the area of increasing marital satisfaction, about 70 percent of all adult participants reported an improvement in conflict resolution and communication skills and nearly 80 percent reported an increased knowledge of healthy marriage skills altogether. 

Overall, nearly 100 percent of all couple participants (98.1%t) reported increased satisfaction with their relationships as a result of workshops sponsored by FuturoNow.

In 2008, the organization plans to expand to serve the high number of singles adults requesting classes and doubling its mentoring services for married individuals.

More than 200 community leaders, professionals, volunteers, and marriage educators attended highly successful training sessions sponsored by FuturoNow throughout the fall.

A three-day training was provided to certify faciliators on research-based curricilum focused on strengthening marriage within a family context while additional three-day training opportunities were focused on facilitating relationship skill workshops for single adults.   House of Ruth collabored on a one-day training that focused on providing tools and information for victims of domestic violence.  Finally, more than 60 leaders from partnering organizations and the community-at-large participated in a dynamic and energetic training that addresses the development of healthy relationship skills among high school students.

To learn more about future training opportunities, contact the FuturoNow office at 1-888-FUTURO-1.

For many couples, problems in marriage are viewed as barriers to happiness.  In reality, problems can actually help strengthen marriages and families.

Marriage counselors suggest that couples determine the real source of a conflict first. When couples mutually address a problem, they should not attempt to rescue the person responsible, but should offer the support to facilitate change.

Offering support, however, is not always easy.  It requires couples first learn to control themselves individually in four critical areas: word, thought, interpretation, and action.

1. Remember that the words you use affect your spouse.  Your words can lift and motivate, or they can insult, criticize and kill the spirit within a marriage.  Take control of your own words.
2. Everyone carries on an internal conversation.   Our thoughts are influenced by our beliefs, our culture, and by our past and present experiences.  Our thoughts inform and impact our feelings.  If a person thinks negatively, they likely will have a difficult time changing a situation and working with a spouse to overcome a problem.  If they are positive, they will have hope and find it easier to work through conflict.  Everyone becomes more responsible when they listen to, and control, their own thoughts. 
3. Individuals within a marriage must be careful to accurately interpret any given situation.  Some interpretations are closer to the  truth than others.  Often, couples confuse their own interpretations with actual truth, even when the two are not necessarily related.  Marriage counselors caution couples to stay away from trying to "read the mind" of their spouse. Couples should ask for clarification rather than assuming they know what their spouse is thinking. 
4. Individuals become responsible in a marriage when they accept the consequences of their actions and understand how they impact their spouse.  Who made you angry?  Who made you scream?  Not your spouse.  You determine whether or not you scream.  The behavior of others may have an impact on you, but you alone determine how you will react to their behavior.

By controlling ourselves individually, we have the opportunity to strengthen and build our spouse. Husbands and wives then can learn to be responsible and strengthen self esteem as they conquer challenges and difficulties.