Comment by Manny Hernandez on March 28, 2011 at 9:53am

I would recommend reaching out to people on this group, Kim:
http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/midatlantic

Comment by tmana on March 28, 2011 at 10:56am

Hey, Kim! I'm a Type 2 at the edge of Somerset county. Where are you located? I know JFK has some diabetes support groups (obviously in Middlesex county), but I think they're aimed mostly at adult Type 2s. I might touch base with Somerset Medical Center and see what they have in terms of staff and facilities. I'd also check with the central Jersey chapter of JDRF. You may also wish to touch base with Carey on Blogabetes; his family usually does the JDRF walk out of TD Park (Somerset Patriots' home stadium).

Comment by Brian (bsc) on March 28, 2011 at 11:15am

I run a support group in the DC area. My group is associated with a local diabetes center, they provide space, refreshments and have a staff person support our meetings. I found a manual on how to develop a support group and a manual on being a support group leader. Hope they are helpful.

Comment by Kim on March 28, 2011 at 11:42am

Somerset Medical Center is a good idea for hosting events, but they have no Pediatric endocrinologist on staff. There are no support goups for type 1s in my area. I have looked. Also the walk at the ball park is the ADA and I have had more then one unpleasant experience with them. I walk with the Mid-Jersey JDRF at RVCC. They are now looking into starting a support group, but let's just say, my focus, for my non-profit covers the road were on while the JDRF's goal is the final destination. I am located in Raritan, near bridgewater and somerville. I will look into that maual thanks!

Comment by tmana on March 28, 2011 at 11:50am

I'm pretty sure Carey does the JDRF walk not the ADA walk, so maybe it is RVCC. Maybe your ped endo can suggest something. Also, maybe check in with Children With Diabetes (remember they are now owned by J&J who's also local), and sanofi-aventis is another local diabetes company. Perhaps one of them will be able to give you some contacts or leads; I know when we had the Diabetes Handprint thing over at Good Morning America, a lot of the J&J reps were Type 1 pumpers who grew up with diabetes... so they're a possible resource to leverage. If all else fails, there's also the option of just taking a restaurant that has a kids' section (like Fuddruckers), setting up a group on Meetup.com, and seeing who follows and decides to show up.

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