Peer support is a crucial part of our work at Generation Patient. Through our peer support programming, we aim to build community, reduce isolation, and ensure that young adults with chronic conditions have a space to explore their chronic illness identity. We offer eight peer groups per month, spanning three regions of the world, and complement this direct support work with systems-level infrastructure building for peer support. This year, we’ve been working on sharing more about the impact of peer support and the work we’re doing! Here’s a summary of what our peer support program has been up to so far in 2025.
From January through June, we’ve:
had 80 different young adult patients join our peer support meetings! Of these, about 40 were new attendees, half of whom were joining from other countries.
offered 38 peer-support groups for young adults with chronic conditions, hosted by 10 different facilitators.
We’ve hosted 6 activity/art-related groups, 7 casual community chat sessions, and 25 different discussion groups including topics like: navigating conflicting access needs, “invisible” illnesses in higher ed, food relationships, health anxiety, employment with a disability, school accommodations, and chronic illness stigma…as well as building self-advocacy skills, unlearning toxic productivity, setting self-compassionate goals, communicating with care partners, talking about chronic illness, going at your own pace, and body neutrality!
collaborated with international community members to support region-specific peer groups for young adult patients in South Asia and East Africa (shout out to our amazing partners at IBD India & Africa Sickle Cell Organization!!)
doubled the size of our general groups since last year – we’ve had an average of 11 attendees join each group (had up to 16 attendees join some groups)!
Some highlights from our Feedback forms:
100% of community members who filled out a feedback form have said that “attending GP peer groups helped them feel less alone, in regards to their chronic illness/disability.” 💛
18 out of 19 respondents reported being very or mostly satisfied with our groups (including overall satisfaction, group structure, topics/activities offered, accessibility, and sense of belonging).
Some suggestions (that we’re working on, and hope to offer someday soon!): offering additional groups on different days/times, hosting more “casual chat” groups, offering groups specifically for ‘older young adults’ (30+) and neurodivergent young adults, and sharing discussion prompts ahead of time when possible.
Quotes from our Community Feedback forms:
“Seeking out spaces designed to support people with chronic illness lets me feel seen and understood without the pressure of having to inform or educate others, because they have likely been through similar experiences. Connecting with others lets me share my experiences without judgment, gain valuable coping strategies from others that I meet in these groups, and feel less isolated knowing that people around my age are also navigating day-to-day life with chronic illness and all that encompasses.” 💚
“I suffer from depression and finding this group has definitely helped...Virtual gatherings seem like harder spaces to build community…but these meetings give me something to look forward to. I love the diversity of people attending - it's not just the same crowd in every meeting. There have been times and weeks when my only laughter came from the peer support meetings.” 💙
“I like how I can show up being myself and share my access needs for that specific day…these meetings [provide a] sense of community…and [have] become an essential tool for me to have an outlet to discuss topics that don't come up in my everyday life.” 💚
“I’m so grateful for the friends I’ve made and the support I’ve received through these groups. Knowing that I have these groups to come back to helps keep me going during hard mental health days.” 💙
“Having access to virtual peer support meetings has helped me so much in terms of my mental health. They've been a game-changer in allowing me to feel more comfortable talking about my experiences with chronic illness. Having a community that gets it has made me feel less isolated and alone.” 💚
“The generation patient community is where I have found the most community for young adults dealing with chronic illness. I have connected with many people from the groups and I cherish those friendships. These groups have allowed me to feel less alone and I am so grateful for them.” 💙
“Overall, I really love the community and the reassurance that there are people to talk to that understand the challenges and wins of a chronic illness as a young adult.” 💚
“The group support is excellent. Everyone is so positive and kind to each other. I feel less alone after the meetings and it genuinely improves my mood.” 💙
“I love the sense of community! It's wonderful. Thank you for providing a safe and inclusive space.” 💚
Our groups are entirely peer-led and free for our community members, and we have LOTS more to come in 2025! Your generous donations allow us to compensate our peer facilitators and keep this program running.