Support groups at Alzheimer’s San Diego provide caregivers who are caring for individuals living with memory loss a safe space to discuss everyday challenges, share feelings, gain emotional support, learn strategies to handle difficult situations, and more. Although some support groups are led by Alzheimer’s San Diego’s Supportive Services staff, many support group facilitators are trained volunteers. Here we will introduce four of our wonderful volunteers and explore their thoughts on support groups and why they volunteer in their own words.
Meet Our Volunteers
Patti: Patti has been a volunteer Support Group Facilitator for 10 years. She has firsthand experience as a caregiver who cared for her mom who lived with dementia. Patti understands just how important support groups are for caregivers. In fact, Patti first started out by attending a support group at Alzheimer’s San Diego while caring for her mom. “It is a place [caregivers] can come and they can say pretty much what they feel – even if it doesn’t sound good to the average person’s ear” says Patti, “there is no judgement here, and you learn things!” Her favorite part of volunteering as a Support Group Facilitator is the people, “we have a tremendous sense of community. Everyone cares so much about each other.” Patti says that this volunteering has also really helped with her communication skills. She finds that she is “continuing to develop [her] skills of active listening, providing the appropriate feedback, and giving mindful questions.”
Janet: Janet first became a volunteer Support Group Facilitator in 2016. While caring for her husband living with dementia, Janet attended a support group and knows just how important they are for caregiver wellbeing. “This is so crucial for caregivers,” says Janet, “I remember how vulnerable I felt when I walked into my first support group meeting.” Although Janet enjoys many things about volunteering as a Support Group Facilitator, the community and rapport the members of the support group build is one of her favorite parts. “There is nobody out there–as empathetic or sympathetic as they are trying to be–[who] feels the way you do walking in your shoes. The only people that know are in this room within these four walls,” Janet tells her group members, “and I think they appreciate that I have walked in their shoes too.”
Sherra: Sherra recently completed the volunteer Support Group Facilitator training and has begun co-facilitating the Adult Children Support Group. She knows what it is like to be an adult child caring for a parent living with dementia. “I was a care partner for my father for many years and like many of us who experience this, I went through times when it was quite challenging” says Sherra. She received help while caring for her dad and a big reason she wanted to become a volunteer Support Group Facilitator was to pass along the help she received. Sherra enjoys watching the connections grow between members in the support group. “For me personally I feel like I am learning a lot and I appreciate that. Also the validation and the witnessing of each other’s stories, challenges, and hopes is a really beautiful thing,” says Sherra.
Paul: Paul recently completed the volunteer training process and he and his co-facilitator will be working with a new group starting this month! Paul can empathize with caregivers as he helped take care of his father-in-law who lived with dementia. “My father-in-law had [dementia] for eight years and boy what a journey that was. Some goodness and some not-so-goodness,” says Paul. He will be co-facilitating an in-person support group and is looking forward to seeing the group members open up, grow, and help each other find solutions. “No matter what age, no matter what the issue is, somebody has faced it before and having other people talk about it,” says Paul, “I think it will help them to a better mental state.”
How to Learn More About Alzheimer’s San Diego Support Groups
For more information, reach out to us today and speak with a Dementia Care Coach who can provide guidance on finding a support group and other personalized dementia support. Call 858.492.4400 or check out our Support Group page to learn more!
If you are interested in volunteering as a Support Group Facilitator, contact Ellen Boucher at 858.966.3305 or email supportgroups@alzsd.org. The four Volunteer Support Group Facilitators highlighted above happen to have firsthand caregiving experience, but it is not a requirement to become a volunteer facilitator. Alzheimer’s San Diego also has compassionate and wonderful volunteer Support Group Facilitators with no caregiving experience. You can also fill out an application by clicking here. Thank you for your interest!
Support Group Awareness Month is recognized every January, and we share various blogs throughout the month regarding different aspects of our support groups. View more blogs >
By Heidi Emmenegger
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