If you are unfamiliar with support groups and considering attending, this article on “The Value of Peer Support” offers an introduction, read here.
The most important element of any support group is to create a safe and confidential space. In a support group, Shared Understandings (also known as ‘ground rules’ or ‘group guidelines’) create this safe and confidential space for caregivers in group meetings. For some examples of Shared Understandings that we have found helpful over our 30+ years of facilitating caregiver groups – read here.
Click on the link below for your geographic location in BC to find an in-person Family Caregiver support group. If you know of a family caregiver support group that isn’t currently listed on our website, please contact us.
- Fraser Health Area (covers Burnaby to Hope to Boston Bar)
- Interior Health Area (covers East Kootenay, Kootenay Boundary, Okanagan, and Thompson Cariboo Shuswap)
- Island Health Area (VIHA covers Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands)
- Northern Health Area (Northern BC)
- Vancouver Coastal Health Area (covers Coastal Communities, the North Shore, Richmond, Sea-to-Sky, the Sunshine Coast, and Vancouver)
Find a BC disease-specific family support group here:
Please note that support groups are facilitated by independent community volunteers or community organization staff and are not supervised or overseen by Family Caregivers of BC (FCBC), with the exception of groups specifically identified as FCBC groups. While we offer initial support group training to volunteers, we cannot take responsibility for the content of non-FCBC support groups or the conduct of facilitators or participants. Peer-to-peer support groups are not a substitute for health advice or an opinion from a qualified health practitioner.