A NEW peer support group for people with type 2 diabetes has launched for the first time on the Bellarine.<\/p>\n
Monthly meetings will be held at Bellarine Community Health\u2019s Portarlington site, giving participants an opportunity to discuss their condition in a supported environment.<\/p>\n
Group ambassadors Lesley Gordon and Eddie Gaskin created the group after having completed Bellarine Community Health\u2019s eight-week EMPOWER workshop program, which is a combination of education and exercise designed to empower people living with type 2 diabetes to self-manage effectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like our Peer Support program on the Bellarine or in the Geelong region that we are aware of,\u201d Mr Gaskin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to help people take the next step after they finish the EMPOWER program.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think you know everything and then people come in and tell you their stories and you think, I wasn\u2019t aware of that, and that\u2019s empowering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Gordon, 82, said the peer support group was designed to continue that supportive environment beyond the workshop program.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have different problems with diabetes and it\u2019s good to share those stories with other people because you feel supported by everyone else,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The peer support group will meet every three weeks on a Wednesday at the BCH Portarlington site.<\/p>\n
There will be a one-hour social support group session and the option of a one-hour exercise session in the gymnasium at Portarlington.<\/p>\n
If using the gym facilities, peer support group members are agreeing to the BCH conditions of entry and code of conduct.<\/p>\n
A $5 attendance fee is required per gym visit. The peer support group will provide coffee and afternoon tea with a gold coin donation.<\/p>\n