Having to care for a spouse, family member or friend with an illness or disability can be challenging. While you may find it rewarding to care for another, you can quickly burn out if you do not have enough support. There are a lot of emotions that can go along with caregiving, and there is a tendency for caregivers to not take care of themselves. Taking care of yourself is essential so that you do not become sick as well. For this reason, attending a caregiver support group can really help. Connecting with others to share ideas, problem-solve and get support can help you to make it through the tough times.
Instructions
Contact a National Organization
1. Find the national organization for the condition that you are working with, whether it is dealing with cancer, neurological conditions or a certain type of physical disability. Almost every major illness or form of disability has a national association.
2. Contact the association and tell them you are offering a caregivers support group. They will often have materials and information to support you. Some even have grant money available to help you pay for advertising, refreshments and basic needs to get your group up and running.
3. If you want to run an open group, check out the links below for more information on general groups and the resources available to you.
Get Your Group Going
4. Find a space for your group. Most caregiver support groups are held in community buildings so that you don't have to pay rent for a room.
5. Avoid having the meeting in someone's home. First, most caregivers need a break from everyday activities and need the opportunity to get out of the house. More importantly, once you hold any kind of formal meeting in your home, you open yourself up to liability issues if someone falls or becomes injured in your home during the meeting.
6. Find a neutral location to meet with your group. Churches, libraries, community centers and senior centers are all good locations. Many of these organizations have a newsletter where you can advertise your caregiver group for free.
7. Get the word out. Advertise in local newspapers and the radio. Write an article or story about caregiving, or tell about your personal journey and why you want to start the group. Place fliers in locations such as hospitals or doctors' offices where others who deal with the same condition will frequent.
Make Your Group Informative and Professional
8. Designate a monitor for the group. There can be a tendency for one or two people to dominate the group. Have a moderator set rules, such as everyone who wants to talk has 5 minutes each. Set a timer and gently remind everyone when their turn is up. If there is extra time, then someone can have a second turn.
9. Make the meeting positive. It is very easy to create a downward spiral if everyone focuses on how difficult things are. Steer the group to look at what is working, and encourage problem-solving and idea-sharing instead of focusing on the negative.
10. Get speakers. Many local health care and other professionals enjoy speaking at groups for free. It helps to get their business name and service out there. It also provides an outsider to come in and put a positive spin on the group.
11. Ask medical professional such as doctors, nurses, physical therapists and psychologists to talk about coping skills. Have a local massage therapist or aromatherapist come in and go over simple techniques to help manage stress at home.
12. Exercise and yoga instructors can offer a mini-workout at your group. Having speakers makes your caregiver support group more interesting, and it will encourage people to attend on a regular basis.
Get Volunteers
13. Do not try to run a group on your own; it is a lot of work and commitment.
14. Form a small committee of people who will help. One person can be responsible for opening and preparing the room. One person can handle refreshments. Another person can return phone calls or emails of potential members.
15. Have different people do these tasks throughout the year so the work does not always fall on the same individuals all the time.
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