EDL is a charity designed to help lower income elderly or disabled individuals by providing resources and monetary assistance. One of the resources we offer is our newsletter. We try to provide a new one each month. Here is the start to one of our newsletters.
SELF HELP GROUPS
Self help groups are self governed and cost free.* They are comprised of people who 
share the same problem or illness.* Members of a group can more effectively give emotional support to others in the group. In addition members learn coping mechanisms that enable them to handle their illness or problems more effectively. There are downfalls to self help groups like members not showing up, self governance, relapsing, etc… In the end though research demonstrates that when people who share the same problem or illness come together (like in a self help group), usually positive outcomes occur.*
For instance one study found that women participating in a self help group significantly extended their life span by around 18 months.* This study was conducted for ten years and consisted of 86 randomly assigned women who had metastatic breast cancer.* It has been speculated that the women lived longer because there was better support and encouragement given in the self help groups.* It is also speculated that the women better maintained their diet and routines because of the support and encouragement…* Read more on EDL Newsletters.