Center for Chronic Illness

The Center for Chronic Illness promotes well-being and decreases isolation for those impacted by chronic illness through support and education. Our goal is to help those living with ongoing health challenges feel less alone and better able to handle all that comes with being diagnosed with a never-ending illness. All of our programs and actions of the organization adhere to our values of compassion, respect, empowerment, inclusion, and community. The Center for Chronic Illness was started in 2016 by clinical social worker, Allison Fine, and began their first monthly, ongoing support groups in April of 2017. They have since grown to offering nine programs. The organization currently has seven board members, one contracted executive director, and five contracted support group facilitators.

The Center for Chronic Illness offers free, professionally-facilitated support groups and health education programs for those impacted by ongoing health challenges. The programs bring people together who live with different diagnoses and offer emotional support and teach coping strategies in hopes of building a stronger chronic illness community. The organization meets their mission and vision through ongoing support groups such as Living with Chronic Illness, Living Mindfully with Chronic Illness, Living with Rare Chronic Illness, Creativity and Chronic Illness, Supporting Loved Ones, and Parenting Chronic Illness. The organization is currently planning to begin offering support groups in other languages and to begin developing educational trainings for healthcare professionals who work with the chronic illness population.