How to Start a Chronic Illness Support Group

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), long-term chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease, cancer, arthritis and diabetes are the leading causes of disability and death in the United States. Before setting up a chronic illness support group, consider who will become members. Groups can be gender or age specific. You can chose to have your group include people who were recently diagnosed, have been ill for some time, are working full time, are bedridden or are living in assisted care facilities.

Instructions

• 1

  Contact the national organization that represents the type of chronic illness in your group. Ask the organization if they have any information about starting self help meetings. Check to see if there are similar groups in your area so that you are not duplicating services that already exist. If you want to check out a similar group to see how it works, call first and ask if you can visit.

• 2

  Determine when members can join your group. You can set specific times of the year for membership or allow members to join any time.

• 3

  Distribute flyers explaining what you want to do in venues such as post offices, libraries, healthcare clinics or community centers. Include your first name and phone number.

• 4

  Find others who would be interested in helping your start-up with another flyer that specifies you are looking for people to help start your group. When they phone you, ask them about their interests and discuss your vision. If they are coming to the first meeting, ask if they would be willing to help organize it.

• 5

  Seek assistance from professionals such as doctors, social workers and pastors. They can help you find resources and may be able to provide a meeting place.

• 6

  Find a venue where you can meet such as free space in a library, church, hospital, social service organization or community center and establish a time to meet. A member's home may be appropriate for small groups.

• 7

  Allow enough lead time for you to network with other core members and identify the needs that you all have in common.

• 8

  The first meeting should emphasize your commitment to the group and inform other members that their participation is needed. Don't overload newcomers with a lot of information. Take time to find out about the backgrounds, personalities and experience of the people in your group. This makes the meeting easier to facilitate. Consider allowing people to socialize afterwards.