Self-help or Support Groups
Updated 16/1/12
Follow the trail
This is not a core VolResource area, but one which might be of wider use. We will add any web sites which relate to UK based groups - preferably with national reach but more local if appropriate. Do let us know if there are other listing pages we should be linking to.
There is an Area of Concern page on Welfare, Rights organisations which are more about campaigning or co-ordination.
Publication
Directory of UK Self Help Groups (9th edition published spring 02) details over 780 UK Self Help Groups. £12.50 including postage and packing from G-Text, 259 Squires Gate Lane, Blackpool, FY4 3RE, email: g.text@btinternet.com
Other web listings
- Self Help Nottingham Acts as a national as well as local resource.
- UK Self Help 'provides the telephone numbers of over 760 UK Self Help Groups and over 600 hyperlinks'. Pretty simple, so quick, design.
- Self Help UK This works on a 'search' basis - they claim to have more than 1000 UK self-help and support groups on file. The front page was rather slow to load when we tried.
- TheSite Run by YouthNet, there are various advice pages with contact lists.
- Patient UK: Self Help and Patient Support Groups, with links to UK and international databases.
- FindSupport National Directory.
Children/Youth
- ChildLine Factsheets and other info. Phone 0800 1111.
- CLIMB Children Living with Inherited Metabolic Diseases.
- I Can For parents and professionals on speech and language development in children.
- Young Minds Mental health, for parents, young people, professionals.
Families
- Contact A Family Has well-presented support network for rare diseases.
- Gingerbread The organisation for lone parent families.
- Sibling Support. A new support group for siblings of the disabled. Web site link is via Tuberous Sclerosis.
General
- Befriending Network (Scotland). Volunteers supporting people with life-threatening illness at home.
- Dyslexia British Dyslexia Association.
- Phobics Society - now Anxiety UK.
- Samaritans.
Mental Health
Medical conditions
- Alzheimers.
- Diabetes.
- DEBRA - Epidermolysis Bullosa.
- Epilepsy British Epilepsy Association site. Includes BEA-Connect, seeking to build a web community of the 40 million people world-wide suffering from this. Also see National Society for Epilepsy for information, message boards etc.
- Action for ME.
- Prostate Cancer Charity.
- STARS Syncope Trust And Reflex anoxic Seizures. Fainting and related.
More general health sites
- NHS Direct also now part of NHS Choices.
- www.patient.co.uk Has a long list of patient groups, lists telephone helplines.
- HealthSites An index to (mainly UK based) info on the web.
- Medicines gateway of Intute (previously OMNI - Organising Medical Networked Information)
Physical Disabilities
- The Association for Children with Hand or Arm Deficiency - REACH.
- Children with Lower Limb Abnormalities - STEPS.
- Limbless Association.
- Spinal Injuries.