Support Groups in BC

Armstrong; HepCure office and library, by appointment, call Marjorie (250)546-2953 amberose@sunwave.net; www.junction.net/hepcure

Castlegar/Grand Forks/Trail: Robin, 365-6137

Campbell River North Island Aids Coalition (NIAC): 830 0787 or toll free: 1 877 650 8787

Courtenay NIAC: 338-7400 or toll free 1-877-311-7400

Chilliwack Meetings: HepTalk meetings every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at the Chilliwack United Church, 46835 Spadina, from 7-9 PM. For more info please call (604)795-4320 or email HepTalk@fraservalleydir.everyl.net ICQ# 24418661

Comox Valley Liver Disease Support Group Meetings: Third Tuesday of each month, 6-8 PM, St. George’s United Church on Fitzgerald. Drop in daily for coffee. : Ingrid or Nicky, 335-9167, nickyrussell@sprint.ca

Cowichan Valley Hepatitis C Support: Debbie, 715-1307, magicbaby36@home.com, ICQ# 30155364or Leah, 748-3432, r-l-attig@home.com

Children's Liver Alliance Canada Inc., P.O. Box 21058, Penticton, B.C. V2A 8K8, Phone: (250) 490-9054Fax (250) 490-0620 Email: bchepc@telus.net http://www.livertx.org

Cranbrook: Katerina Zrdazila kat_z@telus.net (250) 417-2010

Downtown Eastside Hep C Support Group Meetings: Each MONDAY, 6 to 8 PM, Carnegie Center, 401 Main St., Vancouver. Carolyn: momma@vcn.bc.ca

Kelowna HeCSC Meetings: Last Saturday of each month, 1-3 PM, Rose Avenue Education Room in Kelowna General Hospital. : Michael, kelhepcsoc@mailcity.com 860-8178 or eriseley@bcinternet.com or Doreen Richardson (250) 769-6809

Kootenay Boundary Meetings: Second and fourth Tuesday of each month, 7 PM, 1159 Pine Ave. upstairs from Lordco auto parts. : Brian, 368-1141, k-9@direct.ca or Pat, 364-1555

Mid Island Hepatitis C Society Welcome Support Group Meetings-Free coffee and donuts 2nd Thursday of every month 7 - 9 PM, Central VI Health Centre, 1665 Grant Street, Nanaimo BC Contact Susan 250 245-7654 or Helen & Floyd 250 741-1595 Email mihepc@home.com

Mission Hepatitis C and Liver Disease Support Group: 7530 Hurd St. : Patrick, 820-5576.

New Westminster Support Group Meetings: Second Monday of each month, 7:00-8:30 PM, First Nation's Urban Community Society, Suite 301-668 Carnarvon Street, New Westminster. Dianne Morrissettie, 525-3790.

Parksville/Qualicum: 1-291 East Island Hwy, Parksville. Open daily from 9AM to 4 PM, M-F: (250) 248- 5551. Email: dbamford@island.net

Penticton HCV Support Group: 180 Kruger Place, Penticton, B.C. V2A 8H4PH: (250) 490-9054 Fax: (250) 490-0620 Email: bchepc@telus.net Meets second Wednesday of every month - Penticton Health Unit7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Port Hardy NIAC : (250)902 2238

Powell River HepC Information and Support: Cheryl Morgan for time and place info. 483-3804Prince George Hep C Support Group Meetings: Second Tuesday of each month, 7-9 PM, Health Unit Auditorium. Sandra tgillie@netbistro.com , 962-9630 or Ilse, ikuepper@pgrhosp.hnet.bc.ca

Prince Rupert : April, 627-7083.

Princeton Meetings: Second Saturday of each Month, 2 PM, Health Unit, 47 Harold St. : Brad, 295-6510, citizenk@nethop.net

Queen Charlotte Islands: (250) 557-9362 Wendy Mackay at wmm@island.net or ICQ# 41748034

Quesnel: : Elaine, 992-3640.

Salmon Arm Hepatitis Support Group meets the 2nd Thursday of each month at the Salmon Arm Health Unit from 7pm to 9pm. Call Marjorie 546-2953 amberose@sunwave.net

Slocan Valley Support Group Meetings: Third Tuesday of each month, 7-9 PM, W.E. Graham Community School Youth Centre, Slocan. : Ken 355-2732, keen@netidea.com, or Community School Coordinator 355-2484

Sunshine Coast : Kathy, 886- 3211. kathy_rietze@uniserve.com

Vancouver Support Group Meetings Last Wednesday of each month, 10:30-12:30, BC CDC Building at 655 West 12th (12th and Ash, next to the Cambie Street City Square Mall- park here) There will be someone outside the building to direct you to the meeting room (Tom Cox Boardroom second floor). Darlene N., or Darlene M. support@hepcvsg.org 608-3544

Vancouver CLF Meetings: Second Thursday of each month, 7:30 PM, Nurses’ Residence of VGH (12 ^th and Heather). Signs will direct you. (: the CLF, 681-4588

Vernon HepCURE: (250)-546-2953 www.junction.net/hepcure/index.html

Vernon HEPLIFE Meetings: Second and fourth Wednesday of each month, 10 AM-1 PM, The People Place, 3402-27 th Ave. : Sharon, 542-3092. sggrant@netcom.ca

Victoria HeCSC Meeting: Last Wednesday of each month, 1-3 PM at the St. John Divine Church Lounge, 1611 Quadra Street. New Office Location is 205-2722 Fifth Street, Victoria, BC, V8T 4B2 Phone 388-4311. Email: hepcvic@coastnet.com Internet: victoria.tc.ca/Community/HepC/

Ontario Support Groups

Barrie, Ontario

HeCSC Support Group

Contact Donna Rutherford (705) 487-0851

Brampton, Ontario

Christine, Laughnane (905) 452-0049

Brantford, Ontario

Phil Deschamps (519) 754-4698

Belleville, Ontario

Quinte Chapter of HeCSCMeetings: Last Monday monthlyTime: 7 p.m.Place: Belleville General Hospital, In-service Classroom, Hwy. 2Everyone Welcome

Hamilton, Ontario

Tracy (Shorty) ICQ# 27181959

HeCSC Support Group

Meetings at 220 Limeridge Rd. W. Contact (905) 388-2270 Tracey Goegan, Vice-Chair, HeCSC Board of DirectorsBob Peterson (905) 548-6128

Kapuskasing, Ontario

Lisa Evasiuk (705) 335-6932

Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario HeCSC Group

Meetings: Third Wednesday monthly. Time: 7:30 p.m. Place: Cape Breton Club, Upper Room, 124 Sydney St. S. Kitchener, Ontario. Contact Carolyn Caveney lollipop@golden.net (519) 893-9136 E-mail: Annette 1annetteb@home.com

London, Ontario

HeCSC Support Group Contact Susan Chadwick (519) 455-5104

Markham, Ontario (York Region)

HeCSC Group, (HBV & HCV Support)Meetings: Third Wednesday monthlyTime: 7:30 p.m.Place: York Region Public Health,4261 Hwy. 7 East, Suite 202/203,(Located in The Shoppes of Unionville Centre),Contacts: Mary or Anna (905) 940-1333 or 1-800-461-2135Joe Rinella (905) 886-3446

Niagara Region, Ontario

HeCSC Support Group Date: Last Thursday monthly excluding July and DecemberTime: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.Place: Niagara Regional Municipal Bldg. Environmental Bldg. 2201 St. David's Road. Rooms vary, but are posted. Contact Rhonda Kavanaugh Kehl hepcnf@becon.org (905) 295-4260

Northumberland, Ontario

Sharon MacDonald (905) 373-4319

Ottawa, Ontario

HeCSC Support Group Contact Tom (613) 596-2075Hepatitis C Society of Ottawa-Carleton http://www.igs.net/~hepc/Place: Centertown Comm. Health Center, 420 Cooper St. Ottawa(Between Bank and Kent St.)Time: 7 - 9 p.m.Email sue.rainville@sympatico.ca (613) 233-9703 for updates and detailsWe offer one on one peer counselling Mon. afternoons.

Owen Sound, Ontario

Grey-Bruce Hepatitis C Support Group Meetings: Last Thursday monthlyTime: 7:00 p.m.Place: Annesley United Church, Markdale, ONContact: Chris Landry landstev@inetsonic.com (519) 986-4172 FAX: (519)986-4204

Peterborough, Ontario

ECSC Support Group Contact: Jim Boughton (705) 745-2292 Robert Mitchell r.mitchell@sympatico.ca

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

HeCSC Support Group Contact Charles Duguay (705) 949-1683 (HECSC Board member)Simcoe District Chapter and Support Group Hepatitis C Society of CanadaContact Angie (705) 325-8639 lilfred@bconnex.net

Thunder Bay, Ontario

HeCSC Support Group Contact Kevin Larson (807) 622-0619

Timmins, OntarioGeraldine Lepine (705) 235-2728

Toronto, Ontario

HeCSC Support Group Meetings: Last Wednesday monthly Time: 7 p.m.Place: Saint Thomas Anglican Church,383 Huron Street, (south of Bloor between Spadina and St. George)Contact Karen Greene (416) 762-3874 E-mail: Tim McClemont, Executive Director or Steve Apps, OfficeAdministrator hecsc@idirect.comRichard Bond, Chairman, HeCSC Board of Directors

Windsor, Ontario

Windsor Hep-C Support GroupMeetings: Last Thursday monthlyPlace: The Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre,2109 Ottawa Street, next to the City Market.Contact Janice Pillon truds@MNSi.Net (519) 739-0301 ICQ# 2099739

Durham Region Hepatitis C Support Group

Durham Region covers the Southern Ontario municipalities of Ajax, Brock,

Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby. Date: Second Thursday monthlyTime: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Place: St. Mark's United Church, 201 Centre Street South,- Whitby, Ontario, L1N 4V7 Directions: Off Dundas St. W. (Hwy #2), Two blocks West of Brock Street,Corner of Centre St. S. and Colborne St. W.

Contact: Smilin' Sandi in Ontario smking@rogers.com ICQ# 5259509

http://www.creativeintensity.com/smking/

Contacts from around the world can be found at Smilin’ Sandi’s Crusade Against Hepatitis Site.

How To Start Your Own Support Group

Support groups are a funny thing, especially with hepatitis C. People find it very difficult to attend an evening meeting so attendance is often sporadic. What tends to happen is that a small core group will attend regularly and then new people pop in as they are diagnosed. You therefore have the problem of contending with new people, who don't know anything about the disease, and with the rest of the group, who will be more familiar with it. What we tend to do is talk about new business at the beginning of the meeting followed by a very informal general discussion with tea & cookies.

The social part is very important, if not critical. We have had groups with and without the social tea, and those without have failed.

It is very important that people feel that the support group reflects their needs. To accomplish this we have a simple brainstorming technique that works very well. If you have attended any conferences, you will have been exposed to the technique, I'm sure. :-)

What we do is break up the group into smaller groups and hand out large newsprint scrap paper, give the people some markers and ask them what they would like to see happen in a support group. Following this activity, you go back to the large group and take what you can that is similar from each of the smaller groups. This then becomes the structure for subsequent meetings.

It is also possible to consider that each time the group meets; a different person will be the facilitator. That way it isn't always one person's job.

We also have a phone committee that phones to remind members of the upcoming support meeting. That also helps to improve attendance. We always ask if it is OK to leave a message because some people prefer not to have this happen. We get the numbers from the sign up sheet that is passed around at the beginning of the meeting. We keep a database of the numbers and then each person on the phone committee takes 10 names or however many the division is.

We also have a buddy system where people pair up and let their buddy know if they are having trouble or in the hospital. Then we set up visiting and send a card, so they don't feel quite so alone.

You might consider the option of providing an afternoon meeting. We are starting one in September in response to an overwhelming number of requests. I know that is pretty loose, so if you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Another possibility is to have special interest meetings, for people who are interested in compensation issues, for example. Or sometimes the ladies want a ladies only meeting to discuss pre menopausal and other such items in private.

We also do mail outs with info and copy things to bring to the meeting and the postage and these little things cost money. We set up some kind of donation basket at the front and people contribute whatever they can (or not). We appoint a treasurer to keep track of those donations and expenses.

The HEP Support Group Handbook

Prepared by
The Hepatitis Education Project
October 1996

http://www.scn.org/health/hepatitis/handbook.htm

The HEP Support Group Handbook

The Hepatitis Education Project (HEP) is a non-profit corporation chartered in the State of Washington. Formed by hepatitis patients and medical professionals, its mission is to provide support and educational materials for hepatitis patients and their families, and to help raise awareness among patients, medical personnel and the public of the facts concerning hepatitis and the resources available to help those who suffer from the disease.

In 1993, HEP formed its first support group in the city of Seattle. In the following three years the number of groups expanded gradually until today we have over 15 groups throughout the Pacific Northwest. The experiences gained in creating and maintaining these groups are the basis for this handbook. We know from our s around the country that there are many individuals who want to start support groups but are not sure how to start or what steps to take. We hope that this handbook will help you to achieve your goal.

It can be done. Many of our members have started support groups, with no more experience than you have, and with little or no money. What it takes is the will to do it, a little preparation, and some hard work. Above all, the cardinal virtues of support group formation are patience and persistence. Support groups do not form overnight, and it takes time for people to get to know and trust the group and for the word to spread. But once it does the rewards are great. People really appreciate the work you are doing and you can easily see how much good you have done when a successful support group meeting concludes.

The handbook is broken down into five simple steps. We know that each individual situation will be different, and no "cookbook" formula will always work - everyone needs to use good judgment and adapt to their local situation. But the issues that we talk about in each step are the ones that we think are most important to focus on for successful support group formation. They've worked for us in a variety of contexts, urban and rural, across the Pacific Northwest.

For this document in full please see the website at the beginning of the page, or the Hepatitis Education Project at:
4603 Aurora Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98103
206-732-0311(message phone) or 206-732-0312 (FAX)
hep@scn.org
http://www.scn.org/health/hepatitis

You can also give us a call and we can send you a copy.

Special Thanks to Carol from the Carnegie Support Group for all her hard work in making May Hepatitis Awareness Month in Vancouver, BC

The mayor of Vancouver has made the following official Proclamation:

May

HEPATITIS AWARENESS MONTH

MAY 1

Hepatitis Candlelight Healing Ceremony

This is a National Ceremony performed across the North America and isIN REMEMBRANCE IF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE DIED FROM HEPATITIS , ESPECIALLY HEPATITIS C, AND IN PARTICULAR THE CHILDREN WHO HAVE DIED AND THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO LIVE WITH THIS LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS.

The Hepatitis Magazine also has access to a booklet published by Amgen that you can order called How to Start a Hepatitis C Support Group. This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it. However you MUST order it through the magazine as Amgen in the US cannot send it to Canada. Check their website at www.hepatitismag.com or send a letter asking for the HOW TO START A HEPATITIS SUPPORT GROUP to Hepatitis Magazine, 10200 Grogran’s Mill Road, Suite 150, The Woodlands, TX, 77380. There is no cost for the book.

The HepC Ribbon and What it Means

The idea for the ribbon originated with Leah Attig from Cowichan. She was using a red ribbon and then a smaller yellow ribbon pinned together with a Canadian flag at an info table. Leslie Gibbenhuck loved the idea and came up with a way to market the ribbon by having a single ribbon strand made up of half yellow and half red. The idea took off from there and this Canadian ribbon is seen in countries all over the world as the symbol for hepatitis c.

The yellow represents the liver that is destroyed by the virus. The red represents the blood that carries the virus.

The flag represents all the Canadian men, women and children currently infected with hepatitis c.

Donations for HepC ribbons go to HepC VSG- the Hepatitis C Vancouver Support Group to pay for education and prevention material packages like this one.

Bolts of the ribbon can be purchased from Leslie Gibbenhuck at 250.490.9054 or Fax: 250.490.0620 Email: bchepc@telus.net

Rhogram,

An attorney from the US is asking for people that suspected they were infected in this way:

Peter D. Hoffman, Esq.
Law Office of Peter D. Hoffman
(908) 806-2880 NJ Phone
(908) 806-2272 NJ Facsimile
(914) 232-2242 NY Phone
(914) 232-2245 NY Facsimile
pdh2@lawofficeofpdhoffman.com
www.lawofficeofpdhoffman.com

Hepatitis C Risk Factors and Transmission

Hepatitis C is spread primarily with blood and blood products. Blood transfusions and the use of shared, unsterilized, or poorly sterilized needles and syringes have been the main causes of the spread of HCV in the United States. With the introduction in 1991 of routine blood screening for HCV antibody and improvements in the test in mid-1992, transfusion-related hepatitis C has virtually disappeared. At present, injection drug use is the most common risk factor for contracting the disease. However, many patients acquire hepatitis C without any known exposure to blood or to drug use.

The major high-risk groups for hepatitis C are:

Other groups who appear to be at slightly increased risk for hepatitis C are:

People with high-risk sexual behavior, multiple partners, and sexually transmitted diseases.
People who use cocaine, particularly with intranasal administration, using shared equipment.

Maternal-Infant Transmission

Maternal-infant transmission is not common. In most studies, only 5 percent of infants born to infected women become infected. The disease in newborns is usually mild and free of symptoms. The risk of maternal-infant spread rises with the amount of virus in the mother's blood. Breast-feeding has not been linked to HCV's spread.

Sexual Transmission

Sexual transmission of hepatitis C between monogamous partners appears to be uncommon. Whether hepatitis C is spread by sexual has not been conclusively proven, and studies have been contradictory. Surveys of spouses and monogamous sexual partners of patients with hepatitis C show that less than 5 percent are infected with HCV, and many of these have other risk factors for this infection. For this reason, changes in sexual practices are not recommended for monogamous patients. Testing sexual partners for anti-HCV can help with patient counseling. People with multiple sex partners should be advised to follow safe sex practices, which should protect against hepatitis C aswell as hepatitis B and HIV.

Sporadic Transmission
Sporadic transmission, when the source of infection is unknown, occurs in about 10 percent of acute hepatitis C cases and in 30 percent of chronic hepatitis C cases. These cases are also referred to as sporadic or community-acquired infections. These infections may have come from exposure to the virus from cuts, wounds, or medical injections or procedures.

NIH Publication No. 99-4230

The Hepatitis C Virus

HCV is a small (40 to 60 nm in diameter), enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae. Because the virus mutates rapidly, changes in the envelope protein may help it evade the immune system. There are at least 6 major genotypes and more than 50 subtypes of HCV. The different genotypes have different geographic distributions. Genotypes 1a and 1b are the most common in the United States. Genotypes 2 and 3 are present in only 10 to 20 percent of patients. There is little difference in the severity of disease or outcome of patients infected with different genotypes. However, patients with genotypes 2 and 3 are more likely to respond to alpha interferon treatment.

May 1999 e-text last updated: 4 May 1999