When I first started this site in February of 2000, I just wanted to start a web site to share my story with the public. The Internet seemed the best way to do this. As time went on, a revelation began to unfold which awakened me to the realization that this web site was more then just a way for me to share my story. It became clear that I had found a way to reach people of many different backgrounds and experiences. Oh, I still was sharing my experiences, and they still were fueling the information provided here, but much more was happening. People were finding hope, being helped, and finding the strength to cope, heal, get out of bad situations, and much more.

Soon it became very clear to me the site needed to deal with other issues. More problems needed to be dealt with here and more information needed to be provided. I found that it was time for the site to expand. Expansion has been ongoing and has not ceased since it began. Visitors have found they can visit this site many times within a given period of time and see different things each time they come. When a visitor expresses a concern which may not be covered here, a new page pops up in the navigation bar or a new sub-site is created.

As time has gone by and many changes occurred, I have found that this site has grown far bigger then I could have ever imagined in the beginning. I even added and recreated awards for webmasters, listings to plug their sites, gifts, and much more to show my appreciation to those who help keep the Internet safe. These have lead to the creation of many sub-sites which are growing and flourishing. These sub-sites are now fulling functioning independent sites which can stand alone but are still part of the TLTH Domain and are part of the concepts founded when TLTH first began in 2000.

Visitors will notice that many of the content pages, such as those under the Help and Support Heading, are quite long. Back to top arrows are provided throughout these long pages for easier navigation. These long pages exist because there is a great deal of information which pertains to the topic of these pages. New ways of dealing with these long pages has been added to the site design which will be discussed in the last section of this page.

My health problems often slows the development of new programs and has caused many others to close in the past, but visitors will see some of the older ones reappear. Those which will return are only those I know I will be able to maintain.

Building this site and its many extensions and programs has not always been easy to maintain, but I do all I can to keep a place available for those who need help and support. The satisfaction I get of providing it for my visitors and supporters is well worth the effort. This site will be here as long as I am alive. I hope my visitors will continue to find help and support within it's pages.

This site has many sub-sites. Oh, they all can stand alone and remain independent, but they are still governed by the rules of TLTH and are guided by the fundamental concepts. I have created them and, through the many changes in their design, made them able to stand alone, but without taking away from the unity of TLTH Sites. They are all parts of Turmoil Leads to Hope. This is why we have the site map which includes all the sites and pages.

The Disclaimer, Privacy, and Copyright Statements are designed as standard statements for all sites and programs, and sub-sites have them located in the navigation bars where possible. The only change is that I copied these pages and placed the banners and designs specific to each of the sub-sites on each page.

Awards this site receives are meant for TLTH as a whole which all sub-sites are a part. I do not apply for awards for each individual site. I apply for awards using http://www.tlth.org which is the URL to the Entrance page of Turmoil Leads to Hope. These awards are for all the pages, sub-sites, and programs of TLTH. They will be linked from the sub-sites through the navigation bar, when available, or through the Site Map.

This site will forever be in a mode of expansion. I am dedicated to making it better and more productive for all who visit. Many services may disappear from time to time when they do not recieve active participation or when my health issues make them hard for me to maintain.

With the new design, many programs and services have poped up or returned to allow visitors more interaction within this and all my sites. All these programs and services are a part of TLTH and will follow the same rules and principles of this site.

(These programs and services are explained further in the Web Site News & Updates section of the Forum. This section of the forum can be reached by clicking on the News & Updates link under Site Information in the Navigation Bar.)

Thank you for visiting and showing your support for Turmoil Leads to Hope.

Site Design is the most tedious and painstaking part of web construction. The effort to find the right design and to make it work properly has caused many a web owner sleepless nights. Well, at least it has done this to me. I always want the design to be one which reflects the nature and direction of the topics within the site while making everything work well for visitors. It is more then just making the site look nice. It must be easily navigated and work well on the visitor's computer.

This has lead me to the current design of this site. Every aspect of this design was carefully planned and constructed with my visitors in mind. Page topics on long pages and navigation bars are expandable and contractable to benefit the visitor. It is meant to allow longer pages to load easier and to allow all visitors to control their viewing and navigation of these pages.

(If long pages and the navigation bars do not expand or contract, it is because you do not have java script properly installed in your browser. In this case, you still have access to all the information and page links, but will be unable to expand or contract headings on long pages or in the navigation bar. Extra navigation features have been added to help should this be the case. This is explained further below.)

Content Expansion Functions
The Content Expansion Functions are easy to use. To read content within a certain topic on the page, the visitor only needs to click on each topic title. The page will expand to include the information under the topic title they clicked. Clicking on the topic title again after viewing or reading it will allow it to contract. The visitor can expand all the topics at once if they prefer by clicking on the, "Expand All" link at the top of the topic list. The visitor can then contract all the topics at once by clicking the, "Contract All" link, also, located at the top of the topic list.

Site Navigation
Clicking on buttons in the navigation will lead to a site page, program/service main page, directory/listing main page, or expand to reveal a list of links under the heading button. After the link list has expanded, the list can be contracted by clicking on the same button.

The Site Map link will allow visitors to navigate within this site or throughout all the sites, progams, and services. To further aide visitors, a link to the Site Map is located at the bottom of of all pages. This will be important for those visitors who have browsers which will not allow the content expansion feature to work.

Back to top arrows exist on each page to help visitors to navigate to the top of the page when the page has been fully expanded or whenever they prefer. This is done to make the process easier without the use of the scrollbar. Back and next arrows are located at the bottom of every content page or those within a particular group, like awards pages, as another navigation aide to help visitors.

About The Site Logo
The logo of TLTH was carefully designed and chosen to reflect the meaning behind this site. The waterfall (Came from Lynne's Designs); the candle (Made from the tutorial, Animated Candle); and the rose are all representations of hope and the fundamental concepts of this site.

(This logo has inspired me so much that I am including it in the design of all my sites. The entire site design will be standard for all my sites and the logo will be part of it. Only the content and site names will change from one site to the next.)

* The waterfall background represents strength and beauty of nature while letting us know that there is beauty and strength within us all.
* The candle is of rememberance and hope. Hope lives where people care. This candle will burn for all those who suffer from tragedy, abuse, illness, disability, poverty, loss, or any problem which causes people pain. It will burn as long as these problems exist and people suffer.
* The rose represents the beauty and hope that exists amidst turmoil, just as, a beautiful rose can be found amongst thorns. We can always find our way past the pain with help, love, and support.