Ed Madara
LEARN FROM THOSE WHO HAVE "BEEN THERE"
Especially with the coming holidays, if you or someone you know, is facing a difficult or stressful life problem, a no-fee community support group can often be a very helpful resource. In a peer support group, you can talk with, and learn from, those who have both "been there" and can truly understand what you’re going through.
When people pool their experiences as to what works for them, and what good local resources they have found helpful, it can turn what one viewed as a pretty hopeless situation into one, where you discover different options and resources that you didn’t even think were available to you.
If you would like to know what types of community support groups actually meet in Mercer County (in case any may be helpful to you, a friend, relative, or co-worker), just go to: www.medhelp.org/njgroups/Mercer_County_Groups.pdf
The non-profit NJ Self-Help Group Clearinghouse provides descriptions & contacts for over 6,750 local community support groups throughout NJ, and about 1,100 national, online, & model support networks for most any illness, disability, addiction, loss of a loved one, parenting situation, caregiver concern, abuse experience, or other stressful life situation.
In addition to helping people find support groups to meet their specific needs, they also help those interested in joining with others to start a needed new peer support group. New support groups can be started in Mercer County – but only if others are willing to help those who already have expressed an interest in getting them off the ground. For example, the Clearinghouse has already heard from those who are seeking others "in the the same boat" to help them in starting new groups for parents of children with developmental disabilities, and another for siblings of children with autism.
So, if you are interested in learning about a support group for youself or for someone you care about, phone the Clearinghouse at 1-800-367-6274 or 1-800-FOR- M.A.S.H. (Mutual Aid Self-Help). These volunteer-run groups don’t charge a fee, but may have minimal dues or "just pass the hat" to cover their low operational expenses.
If you think the Mercer County listing of sample groups may be helpful to others, please feel free to pass it on, post a link to it, or print and post it on any local community bulletin board. The Clearinghouse updates the listing, every 10 or so months (sooner if they hear of multiple new groups).
Do you live near, or in another NJ county? Then just ask them to send you the URL for that county by emailing [email protected] Or visit their website at www.NJgroups.org
Coming together as volunteers to help one another "in the same boat" is an old and valued American tradition. So consider sharing your experienes, strengths and hopes. As former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD, who also served as a member of a local self-help group himself, expressed it:
"My years as a medical practitioner, as well as my own first-hand experience, have taught me how important self-help groups are in assisting their members in dealing with problems, stress, hardship and pain… the benefits of mutual aid are experienced by millions of people who turn to others with a similar problem to attempt to deal with their isolation, powerlessness, alienation, and the awful feeling that nobody understands."
