GPS Community Programs

GPS for Living With Illness

Living with a serious or chronic illness extends far beyond managing physical symptoms—it reshapes daily life, emotional well-being, relationships, and even one’s sense of identity. For many, the journey can feel isolating, with few spaces to openly share the layered challenges of living with illness.

Expanding Care Beyond the Clinical

GPS for Living With Illness equips organizations with a scalable, trauma-informed model that complements medical treatment by centering human connection. Through facilitator training, customized curriculum, and ongoing consultation, GPS helps organizations expand their ability to provide holistic support.

By partnering with GPS, your organization can create group spaces where participants feel validated in their struggles, find strength in community, and build resilience that enhances long-term outcomes. When care includes both treatment and connection, healing becomes not only possible but transformative.

How GPS for Living With Illness Helps

Living with illness can bring waves of uncertainty, frustration, and emotional fatigue. GPS helps organizations extend care beyond the clinical by providing evidence-based, peer-led support that strengthens resilience and emotional well-being.

Safe and Compassionate Spaces
Groups foster a supportive environment where participants can speak openly about their experiences —from daily frustrations to moments of hope— without stigma or judgment.
Empathy Through Shared Experience
Facilitated by trained peers or professionals, GPS groups connect individuals who truly “get it,” building trust and reducing isolation through shared understanding.
Practical Tools for Resilience and Self-Care
Participants learn actionable strategies for stress management, emotional regulation, and self-advocacy, all within a trauma-informed framework.
Strength, Community, and Hope
GPS offers more than support — it fosters agency and empowerment. Participants leave each session feeling better equipped to navigate their health journey with renewed confidence.
Integration Into Existing Services
GPS can be seamlessly embedded into hospitals, clinics, patient advocacy programs, and community health organizations, complementing clinical treatment with emotional care.
Sustainable Community Impact
By training facilitators within your organization, GPS builds internal capacity to continue offering groups long-term, creating lasting benefits for both individuals and systems.

Through GPS, living with illness becomes more than getting through the next day — it becomes a shared path of healing, growth, and human connection.

Why Choose GPS for Living With Illness?

GPS offers organizations a trusted, adaptable framework that complements medical treatment with peer support, addressing the emotional and relational realities of illness.

Culturally Grounded and Person-Centered
GPS ensures every participant feels respected and represented by honoring diverse identities, cultural values, and lived experiences.
Flexible Across Settings and Systems
Programs can be delivered in hospitals, outpatient centers, community organizations, or virtually, meeting individuals wherever they are.
Meaningful, Measurable Outcomes
Participants consistently report feeling less isolated, more emotionally balanced, and better equipped to manage their illness and daily lives.
Thoughtfully Designed for Complex Journeys
GPS groups are tailored for those living with serious or chronic conditions, ensuring that facilitation is sensitive to the unique challenges of illness.
Proven Partnership Model
GPS collaborates closely with organizations, offering training, curriculum, and ongoing support to ensure effective and sustainable implementation.
A Pathway to Whole-Person Care
By pairing clinical treatment with trauma-informed peer support, GPS strengthens both emotional well-being and medical outcomes — helping organizations deliver truly holistic care.

“Before GPS, we struggled to find a way to support patients beyond the clinic walls. Now we have a model that builds community, reduces isolation, and helps people living with cancer feel whole again.”
Organizational Leader
“Living with long COVID has been so isolating. In GPS, I found a space where I could share my reality without judgment and discover strength I didn’t know I had.”
Person Living With Long COVID
“GPS gave me the skills, structure, and confidence to create healing spaces for others managing the same illness that I have. Now I can give back to people who are struggling like I did.”
GPS Facilitator with Lived Experience
“As a family member supporting my mother through Alzheimer’s disease, I often felt invisible in the care process. GPS gave me a place to speak my truth, connect with others who understand, and find resilience for my role as a caregiver.”
Family Member
“Clinically, I’ve seen the difference when medical treatment is paired with GPS. Patients facing rare diseases show more resilience, greater emotional balance, and stronger outcomes. It bridges the gap between care and connection.”
Clinical Director

GPS Support Groups for Living with Illness

The GPS model is adaptable for people navigating a wide range of challenges when it comes to illness, including:

Chronic Illness Management: Support for individuals managing conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis.
Cancer Journey Support: Groups for those in treatment, remission, or navigating survivorship.
Rare Disease Support: A safe space for individuals with uncommon conditions and their families to connect and share resources.
Caregiver Resilience: Support for those caring for loved ones with chronic or serious illnesses.
Post-Treatment Recovery: Helping individuals rebuild emotional and physical strength after treatment.