Support

and Rome offers free breastfeeding support and information. The meetings are open to all mothers (children also welcome), expectant mothers and women interested in breastfeeding. Calhoun location meets the second Monday of each month at 10 a.m. Rome location meets the third Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m. Leaders are available to answer questions. For more information, call Erin at 706-234-3980 or email at LLLCalhounRome@ gmail.com.

The Calhoun, Gordon County Parkinson’s Support Group will meet the fourth Tuesday of each month beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church, 205 E. Line St., Calhoun. This group is open to anyone living with Parkinson’s and their families. For more information, please call 706-413-3264.

Do you have a family member or friend with a mental illness, such as bipolar, depression, PTSD, or schizophrenia? If so, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers a FREE, 12-week course that is full of helpful information about mental illness. Students learn how the brain operates and the way certain medications work, the different types of treatment, mental health services, ways to communicate better, and how to take care of yourself. The FamilyTo Family course is termed a best practice and NAMI is happy to offer it for the first time in Dalton at Crosspointe Christian Centre, 2681 Underwood Street, on Sundays this fall. For more information and to register call NAMI Rome at 706-506-5010.

The Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association is sponsoring a monthly support group at Morning Pointe Assisted Living, 660 Jolly Road, on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. For more information or directions, call Mary Braden at 770- 5484683 or Karen Parrott at 706- 346- 5220. For more information about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, call 800-272-3900 or visit www.alz.org/georgia.

A support group for local residents with multiple sclerosis is being organized. If you have MS, are related to someone who does, or are caring for someone with MS, call Charles Smith at 706-625-2752.

Special Care Plus, a free one- on- one consultation program, offers education and information to primary caregivers of persons with dementia. Each caregiver will receive basic information on the different stages of the disease; tips on care giving techniques; home safety information; information about programs such as Medic Alert + Safe Return, which promotes wandering safety; information about local and telephone support groups, which provide emotional and educational support; and referrals to agencies and other resources. Any primary caregiver who is caring for a loved one with dementia in the home is eligible to receive this program. To learn more about the Special Care Plus program, call 800272-3900.

The Georgia LongTerm Care Ombudsman Program seeks to improve the quality of life for residents of long- term care facilities. Ombudsmen investigate and work to resolve problems or complaints affecting long-term care facility residents; identify problem areas in longterm care and serve as advocates for change; provide information about long-term care and related services; promote resident, family, and community involvement in long- term care; educate the community about the needs of long-term care residents; coordinate efforts with other agencies concerned with long- term care, visit long- term care facilities routinely to talk to residents and monitor conditions; and educate facility staff about resident rights and other issues. For more information, call Linda Ann Daniel at 1-866-565-8213 or 706272-2158.

The Alzheimer’s Association’s Caring Closet was created to help offset the high cost of incontinent products and give the families support they often desperately need. Once a month, family caregivers caring for their loved one with dementia still living at home visit the Closet and receive free items. If you would like to visit the nearest Closet, call the chapter office to receive a flier with locations and hours. Morning Pointe in Calhoun has a Caring Closet; call Mary Braden at 706-629-0777.

The Northwest Georgia Parkinson Disease Association, Inc. , is offering a monthly support group for persons living with Parkinson Disease, their caregivers, family and friends. The support group will meet at Gordon Hospital; Conference Room A. Refreshments will be served. There is no cost to attend the support group meeting. For any questions about the support group and future meetings, call James Trussell at 706235-3164 or 706-346-5678.

Are you interested in losing pounds and inches? Join TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) for support and how-to information. Meetings are on Monday nights. Weigh-ins begin at 6 p.m., and group support and information starts at 7 p.m. at the Gordon County Senior Citizens Center, 150 Cambridge Court, Calhoun. For more information, call 706-847-3306.

Community volunteers are needed at Countryside Hospice Care, where the mission is to promote comfort and dignity at the end of life. The agency covers 26 Northwest Georgia counties between three offices in LaFayette, Rome, and Newnan. If you would like to participate in this rewarding program, call 706-638-7651 or 1-800660-7381.

Discovering Hope, an autism support group for Northwest Georgia, meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Friendship Baptist Church, Rocky Face. For more information, call Connie Post at 706-673-7765 or www. discoveringhope.us.

Caring Connection is a telephone support group especially for caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s who cannot leave their homes because of care responsibilities. This support group is as close as the phone. Call 706-275-0819 or 1-800272-3900 and ask to be enrolled in Caring Connection.

Have you experienced a loss of loved one, and feel you are all alone? You are welcome to join a Grief Support Group. Meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. in Gordon Hospital’s Classroom A. For more information call 706-629-2895, ext. 2203.

The Compassionate Friends of Dalton and N.W. Georgia is part of a worldwide effort that has helped many families cope with the loss of a child and to honor our children’s memory. The Compassionate Friends meets on the third Thursday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. at Evangelical Methodist Church ( in the “Gathering Place” building), 1035 Abutment Road, Dalton (on the hill behind the old Lowe’s off Walnut Avenue). For more information, call Dawn at 706-277-3312 or 706264- 4458 or e- mail dawnsisson@msn.com.

SING (Surviving Infidelity Necessary to your Growth) has formed here. If you are experiencing difficulty in marriage and are looking for ways to survive, then you should come and be part of these meetings designed to help, encourage, and solve issues in a marriage that can lead to a promising future ahead for the entire family. For more information, call Iroka Moore at 706-629-2880.

United Hospice is seeking volunteers who can help others through companionship, reading, sharing, and other small tasks. Give the gift of caring and enjoy the privilege of sharing in your local area. Call Dan Hogan at 706-602-9546 or 800-8677976.

Looking for a 12-step meeting for men and women? At “Road to Recovery,” recognizing Jesus Christ as our higher power, they take the 12 steps and compare how they are taken from scripture and how to apply them to our lives to experience true freedom from the bondages of addiction. The meetings are free and open to the public at World Harvest Church locations in Cherokee and Gordon counties. For more information, call 706-602-1919. The Calhoun church is located at 2335 Red Bud Road. The meetings here are every Monday and Thursday at 7 p.m.

A 12- stepmeeting for Overeaters Anonymous is held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 901 W. Emory St, Dalton on Thursdays at 6 p.m. Call Nan at 706695-9008 or Stephanie at 706-847-8125 for more information.

Caring for a loved one who is suffering from late-stage cancer is certainly one of life’s hardest experiences. But you do not have to go through this alone. The Harris Radiation Therapy Center at Gordon Hospital provides a place for you to meet each month with others who understand what you are going through during this difficult time. Strength for Caring, a support group for caregivers of patients with advanced stages of cancer meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 2-3 p.m. at the Harris Radiation Therapy Center at Gordon Hospital, 1035 Red Bud Road. For more information, please call 706-879-5853.