Join the Caregiver Support Network: Connect, Learn, and Get Support

Welcome to our Caregiver Support Community!

 

CaregiverSupportCommunity.org is an online caregiver support group for patients, friends, and families affected by a rare disease. It is a welcoming and supportive community designed for close friends and family members who are providing care for someone with a rare disease or condition.

Our mission at Ben’s Friends is to provide caregiver support and ensure that patients living with rare diseases or chronic illnesses, as well as their caregivers, family, and friends, have a safe and supportive place to connect with others like them.

The patients on any one of Ben’s Friends communities will have specific things in common because of their disease.  Meanwhile, their caregivers may have things in common with other caregivers, independent of disease. CaregiverSupportCommunity.org is a caregiver support community where caregivers can share experiences with, and support each other. 

Geographically, caregivers from a particular region may find it helpful to share and explore resources, supports and agencies available to them. There is strength in numbers: experienced caregivers can help those new to the role. And new caregivers can give those with a wealth of experience, a refreshed sense of purpose and commitment. Everyone — rare disease patients and caregivers — wins.

CaregiverSupportCommunity.org creates a safe virtual space where patients and family members as young as 12 can find information, engage in discussions, share their experiences, and support one another. Members come from many backgrounds. Some have a strong religious faith, and others no faith; some are children and others adults, rich and poor, graduate educated or taught by life. Our common denominators are that we share a life journey, and we try to help each other.

Although medical doctors occasionally visit, medical professionals do not routinely support the site. No one here can diagnose you or dictate your treatment choices. We might inform your choices by sharing individual experiences and information developed by study as lay people. But CaregiverSupportCommunity.org is not intended to replace the advice or treatment of licensed medical professionals. Readers should validate any information they take away from here, against the experience of a licensed medical doctor. Site owners and moderators are not legally responsible for the accuracy of information shared on the site.

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How is Ben’s Friends Different from Social Media and Other Support Sites?

Our mission at Ben’s Friends is to ensure that patients living with rare diseases or chronic illnesses, as well as their caregivers, family, and friends, have a safe and supportive place to connect with others like them.

We’re interested in you as a person, and in your struggles as a rare disease patient.  But we don’t want to know your name or where you live. We won’t even allow you to use your real name when you register for one of our communities. Because when it comes to medical things, anonymity is important in our googly universe.  Your information is never shared, and your activity never tracked by adware.

When Ben’s Friends asks for the country and region you live in, that’s in case your fellow members can recommend local resources and help, and so everyone knows what kind of medical system there is where you live.  That’s important when it comes to giving and getting support. Because we are all about support, and we’re all in this together.. 

Ben’s Friends: Safe and Supportive. 
And anonymous to keep it that way.

Why create an account?

Posts on the different Ben’s Friends communities can be read by anyone on the internet. You can browse through the different topics and find most of the information you’re looking for but there are many things you won’t be able to do unless you create an account. These include:

Making your own posts. Although you’re able to find useful information just by reading other members’ posts, you might still have a lot of questions in your mind. Either you want to start a new topic to talk about them in detail or you want to reply to a comment on a thread. These won’t be possible unless you create a new user account.

Viewing other members’ profiles. Member profiles include information about the country or region they are from, whether they are a patient or a caregiver, and details about their disease and treatments. Maybe you came across an interesting post and you want to learn more about the member. Or maybe you’re looking for members who are from the same country as you. Having a user account allows you to see other member profiles and find information that may be relevant.  

Sending private messages. Aside from being able to post publicly and commenting on a thread, having a user account also allows you to send private messages both to other members and moderators. In case you want to discuss a topic only with a specific person, this is possible by sending private messages when you have created your account.

Click here to create an account and join.

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