See You There! First Meeting This Week

The first Hep Hop, Positive Talk support group will take place this week. Originally, I had wanted to make contact via phone or email with interested individuals before the first meeting, however I have decided to go ahead and disclose our meeting location and time. 

We will meet at the Evansville Central Libabry in the Browning room at 5:30 on Thursday April 3rd. This week I will go over a short presentation and we will have time for a "meet and greet" session. Please contact me if you're interested in attended so I have an idea on the refreshments I decide to bring. 

This group is open to people who are Hep C positive without a co-infection of HIV due to the fact HIV positive clients already have support groups and various resources. If you have questions or concerns feel free to contact me.

While I was researching some information for group I found a couple of charts I would like to share. The first chart is the prevalence of Hepatitis C world wide. Although in comparison the US is in the lower percentile, we are still on the chart.

The second chart shows the prevalence of Hepatitis C in the US over several years. According to the CDC, acute hep c is a short term illness which occurs within the first 6 months after someone is exposed to the virus. For most people acute infection leads to chronic infection. Chronic infection is a long term illness which remains in the body for a lifetime. Chronic hep c can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. As the chart shows below, there has been a steady decrease in hep c incidence. We can explore these findings at group. 

Feel free to ask questions or make comments below. Pass this information on and share with family or friends who might be interested in attending our support group this week. 

Southern Indiana's Hep C Group!

Welcome! If you've found this blog I'm hoping it means you are interested in learning more about HCV and meeting a supportive group of people in the Southern Indiana region.

My name is Jillian and I am a social worker at a local agency in Evansville. I have some experience working with support groups, but I'm always eager to learn more. It is amazing how little resources there are available for the HCV positive community in Southern Indiana, the Mid-West, and in the U.S. Unfortunately, there is an unfair stigma associated with Hepatitis C. I hope we can break this stigma and shed light on the virus together.

Currently, I am in the process of creating a support group which will meet on the first Thursday of each month. If you are interested in joining, I'd love to talk with you! You can call me at work 812-421-0059, email me at jcooper@argevansville.org or jillianapril88@gmail.com. I'd love to get to know a little bit about you and answer any questions you may have. You can always post questions and concerns on the comments section below.

The group will consist of Hepatitis C positive men and women of various ages. We will discuss topics pertaining to medications, insurance, emotional and social support, coping strategies and healthy tips. We can also utilize this blog to keep in touch between our monthly meetings.

I will post again soon! Please call or email me if you'd like to talk.

Here is an article I found interesting, so check it out. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/05/248934833/fda-set-to-approve-hepatitis-drug