WHO? The Northern California Ataxia Support Group consists of over 100 people from Northern California and Northern Nevada. It includes people with Ataxia, their care givers and others who have a direct interest in providing support to people who have Ataxia. The Support Group is affiliated with the National Ataxia Foundation (NAF). This Support Group is entering its seventh year of serving the needs of its membership. It all started with a dozen Northern Californians who met in a small conference room in San Diego where they were attending the Feb. 24-27, 1994, Annual Meeting of NAF. They were told by members of the NAF leadership that starting a support group was a real but fulfilling challenge and not to get discouraged with a possibly small turnout of only 10-15 people for our first few meetings. This did not deter Helen Torres who returned home full of enthusiasm to organize a Support Group for Northern Californians. In just one month, she organized its first meeting, which was held in Lafayette, CA, on March 26, 1994. We had 26 attendees! Not bad for the first meeting! In fact, that was our LOWEST turnout. Our highest was 82 for a comprehensive presentation by Dr. Arnulf Koeppen, M.D., one of the world's leading ataxia researchers. Helen Torres continued to lead and develop the Group for the next four years. During the past two years, Rocio Wu was the Support Group Leader. Effective in Jan. 2000, Mike Fernandes has assumed leadership of the Group. Helen, Rocio, and Mike have operated on the premise that if you provide quality speakers, a cheerful meeting atmosphere centrally located, and a hearty lunch, you will get a good turnout of satisfied members, many of whom travel a long distance. So far, this approach has been very effective as our average attendance has been in the mid-40's, providing a sufficiently wide variety of backgrounds and ataxias that make it possible for most attendees to find at least one other who shares, or at least understands, his/her needs.
WHEN? Support Group meetings are held quarterly - usually on the first or second Saturday of the Quarter. Meetings run around three (3) hours and include a lunch followed by an informative program.
WHERE? Meetings are currently being held in Lafayette, a location that is close to the center of Northern California, with excellent freeway access.
HOW? To join, e-mail Deborah the Support Group Leader, Deborah Taylor Omictin at Rsisbig@aol.com
To join our Support Group, you also need to join the National Ataxia Foundation, which mails out our meeting notices. Their address is 2600 Fernbrook Lane, Suite 119, Minneapolis, MN 55447-4752 ;
Telephone: (612) 553 – 0020; or e-mail naf@mr.net
You are encouraged to frequently visit NAF's Internet Home Page at http://www.ataxia.org for the latest ataxia information.
"WE ALWAYS WELCOME NEW MEMBERS"
submitted by Helen Torres