Question:
Can anyone tell me how to start a support group in my area?

I am wanting to start a support group in my area. The closest one is 2 hours away. Can anyone give me some details about how to start one? Thanks in advance for any and all of your advise.    — Christi O. (posted on March 12, 2003)

March 11, 2003
First find a place to meet. Most hospitals will let you use a room for free. Try the hospital where you had your surgery. You can also try a public library, school or church for a meeting place. Put flyers up at the hospital and ask your surgeon to hand them out also. If there is an on-line support group you belong to, announce it there. You can also go to Find Peers on this site, choose your state, and then arrange by city. That will show you the AMOS members who live close to you. You can then email them. Good luck. It really is great to have a support group that is convenient.
   — garw

March 12, 2003
You can get a lot of information by searching the Q&As here. Type in suport group and you will get a ton of responses. Read through them to find the ones that pertain to starting up a new SP. <P> I am in the same situation as you are. My surgeon is 4 hrs away and the closest SP is 2-3 hrs away. I have been tossing around the idea of trying to start one here at my local hospital. I have been doing all kinds of research and gathering information for topics and what not. Feel free to email me and we can brain storm together for topics and who to go about starting a sp in our areas. <P> My only question was do I start it before or after my surgery? I don't know what would be better. I would hate to get a huge turn out and have a great group form only to have to step out for a while during the surgery and recouperation time. <p> There are also other questions like how do you cover the cost of suppliments that you pass out (paper copies of the topics, other info), flyers etc. I guess you could put out a jar for gifts for help with the publishing costs. Then there is the accounting issue of it all. <p> Do you hold 2 different types of meeting, one for post ops only (for support) and one for General Information (for those who are just starting their search)so that the post ops don't get board hearing the same thing about the actual surgery and not the support they need.....Different things to consider.
   — Pookie B.

March 12, 2003
I am also thinking of starting a support group. My surgery is in 8 days(WOOOOHOOOOOOO!) so I will definately have to wait until after surgery. I am having my surgery out of town and although there are several support groups in the area I haven't found one that I'm particularly fond of. I think I am going to focus on post-op but ofcourse anyone will be welcome because here there are many pre-op support groups that are offered by the surgeons that explain their exact procedures. Perhaps after the initial meeting you could extend another 30 minutes or so for pre-ops who have questions. I'm just looking for a quant group of people to get close to and share experiences, anxieties, frustrations, etc. I think "pookie bear" gave a good example about looking in the library. Gar is probably right though that the first place you should start is finding a location! Good luck to you!
   — denisel

March 12, 2003
4 of us post ops got together and deligated duties to get a support group together. Find a place to meet, set up meeting times, topics, structure. Name your support group and adv it where ever you can. Invite people to attend. Make sure you set up guidelines...Its not a easy job but its worth it in the end! If you have more questions feel free to write ... Good Luck
   — Deanna Wise

March 12, 2003
I was like you. My surgeon is 4 hours away and the nearest support group is probably 3-4 hours away. I live in a pretty small community so I didn't know how well it would do but I was willing to keep it going even if the turn out was myself and one other. We have been meeting now for 4 months and the lowest number has been 2 the highest 7. We are still a little unorganized but even if we just meet to compare notes and give each other encouragement and suggestions than I consider it a huge succcess. Email me if you like and I can give you a few tips on getting started.
   — Laurel C.