Support Groups
If you are overwhelmed and feel like nobody understands
you and the difficulties you are having with a certain aspect of your life, you
may benefit from a support group.
A support group is a group of people with common
situations that help each other by sharing their experiences and challenges
with a specific situation. Support groups have a facilitator that is
knowledgeable about the issues that the group is dealing with and is trained to
help the group provide mutual support to each other.
Organizations in the community offer many support groups
on a variety of topics. They may include:
- Abuse
support groups
- Mental
health related support groups
- Health-related
support groups
- Loss of
loved one support groups
- Caregiver support - for those who
provide care
- Parent
support - parenting in general, single parents, parents of children with
disabilities
For further information*:
Contact one of the information lines listed below during normal business hours. Services are free and confidential.
The Senior LinkAge Line® is served by volunteers and staff of the area agencies on aging who are certified by the Minnesota Board on Aging. Staff and volunteers receive extensive training and provide objective, confidential assistance. They are independent and are not connected with any private or non-profit companies that sell products. The Senior LinkAge Line® is the federal government-certified Medicare Counseling phone service for the state of Minnesota.
The Disability Linkage Line® is served by the Metropolitan and the Southeastern Centers for Independent Living. Staff and volunteers receive extensive training, and provide objective, confidential assistance. They are independent and are not connected with any private or non-profit companies that sell products.
The Veterans Linkage Line™ is answered by trained staff at the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and Crisis Connection, a Twin Cities based nonprofit mental health telephone counseling service. MDVA staff, who are veterans themselves manage the lines Monday through Friday from 8am to 4:30pm. Crisis Connection social workers field all crisis call during business hours, and all calls after hours, weekends and on holidays.
Minnesota Teens or Young Adults with questions or comments about this Web site can call (651) 431-4714; Mon- Fri, 8:00 am - 4:30pm or email: youth_corner@state.mn.us.
* Many programs in this Web site require that you have maximum income or asset limits and use the standard of Federal Poverty Guidelines (e.g. 120% of FPG). The Federal Poverty Guidelines are set by US DHHS, and take affect in Minnesota July 1st. Federal Poverty Guidelines are available at the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Eligibility for many public programs is done by the Minnesota County Social Services System. To find a county eligibility office near you, put your zip code into Minnesotahelp.info and type the name of the program in the keyword search box. For example, "Medical Assistance".
NOTE: There are many other factors - besides a person's income - that go into determining whether a person is eligible for a program. It's important to talk to the provider of the program to see if you can qualify.