European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Child abuse child advogo1 Navy photo for is by Michael Wood Peers Volunteer Patricia Yandle left children Laura Ana Jeffrey Shari Buffon wifi son Jake and Claire Lebling of family service Center at Simonella Sicily. A boost to help people be better Par by Robert Leonard Naples Bureau a Little friendliness goes a Long Way ins Gonella Sicily at a naval air  radiates from the Parent educational enrichment service Peers program where families in flux Are befriended by volunteers who have walked a mile in their shoes. It s like a big sister program or continuing sponsorship Ordinary folks helping other Ordinary folks. They dispense advice and Wisdom about local customs what it s like being a Parent How to Cope. They try to relieve stress and tension and provide information. They believe this kind of assistance goes a Long Way toward making people better parents and in turn preventing child abuse. There s Little doubt of the need for this service particularly in Simonella and la Maddalena two Sites on italian islands in the Mediterranean. This service could be offered in Norfolk a and it would be greatly appreciated said Simonella Public affairs officer it. De Lundquist. But there is so much in Norfolk and Here we really Are living in a strange  conveniences Are lacking on the Island. The route Home sometimes up a winding Mountain Road can take an hour. You get there and find your Power is off or maybe you Don t have water Lundquist said. You Don t have a phone. Your husband is Down Here at work. You re All alone. You go to the Hospital and they can t help you. They have to Fly you to Naples. Just Stop and think of the pressure that that  Claire Lebling thought about it and did something. The Mother of six started Peers while she was in la Maddalena Sardinia. Now she oversees it As Deputy director of the family service Center in Simonella. The 18-month-old program on the Island of Sardinia has 15 Active volunteers serving about 2,500 people. The program is now Selling itself said it. Cmdr. Mellonis Johnson director of la Maddalena s family support Center. When you get military people talking about Touchy Feely things you know something is going  Susan Lawwill a Navy wife and new Mother is glad Peers is available at Simonella. I meet with my Volunteer daily Lawwill said. We Are neighbors and that is How we became Peers. It is a helping situation in that it is for everyone new or old parents. If you be already had children you can still learn things that perhaps you had t thought about before. As a new Parent it has been very enriching and very  Peers is fashioned after Parent aids a successful stateside program in which aides Are assigned to problem families after they be been in court. Peers is aimed at preventing child abuse by easing stress and alleviating problems. When i first started working for the Navy the first person who called me shipmate left a lasting impression on me Lebling said. Our program is just that. By being friends or shipmates we can be comfortable about offering help to people because we Are shipmates. Who better to help other Navy families out Lebling said. These people Are old hands at Navy life. They know the problems because they have experienced the same ones. We Don t want people just to survive. We want them to thrive on Navy life. By being comfortable with a Friend shipmate or peer we can get people to turn to these volunteers and be Able to talk about How awful it is or what happens when they get ready to have a baby or will they be All alone because their husband is on three Section duty we offer our people a form of Comfort volunteers Are not judgmental either. We offer people the Benefit of doubt Lebling said. That is people generally love their children and Don t want to treat them badly. The goal of Peers is that child abuse or neglect won t take place. We re not naive about this however. We know that just by offering a service does t necessarily mean that we re going to eliminate a  but she tries with three staffers aided by five volunteers.  been chosen because of their listening skills ability to reach out knowledge of military life ability to use available resources knowledge of child development maturity and coping skills. They must be available four to six hours per week for at least six months and have Access to transportation. These eight people often replace a support system of friends a big sister mom or a neighbor from Back Home. Patricia Yandle a Navy wife and Mother of two preschool children is such a person. Yandle wants to help other women confronted with uncertainty. She tells them that they Are going to be of that they Are going to live through their problem that being a Mother is not a terminal disease. I think being overseas is difficult enough but being pregnant overseas can t be very easy Yandle said. I just had my first meeting and i was very anxious about it. We talked about our husbands our kids just anything that came up. I guess she was a Little anxious about having to go to Naples to have her baby. She does t have a phone and i am an extra person to help her adjust and adapt. I like people and i know that i can give some of myself without suffering or without having my family  Friday March 7, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13