UCP Kindergarten is now both for children with any special need and those without special needs.  This meets-as-it-needs-or-wants-to group consists of parents reflecting that mixed population.   The children are generally 18 months to 5 years of age.  The parents have banded together to share resources and to have a good time.  Call Easter Seals/United Cerebral Palsy Kindergarten at 704/522-9912 weekdays 9-5 for more information; ask for Mary Jane (the social worker who is most familiar with the program).

This organization provides a free web bulletin board and free face to face support and social groups for any mommy along with a huge variety of special interest boards and groups including (in part) prematurity, special needs, depression, mothers of multiples, home schooling, etc. etc. Oh, and yes, there are occasional activities for daddies too.  The group is primarily for residents of Union County, but is open to residents of neighboring counties who live close enough to participate actively in face to face activities.  To join or learn more, click here to visit their web site (www.ourmommiesgroup.com). If you do not have e-mail, please call Joal at SupportWorks at 704/331-9500 Monday through Thursday mornings.

This service provides comprehensive data and referral assistance for nonprofit and government resources in the NC counties of Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, and Anson counties and in or near the city of Mooresville, NC.  If you are calling on a landline or residential phone in one of those counties, dial 2-1-1.  If that fails, if you are calling on a cell phone, or if you are calling from anywhere else in NC, call 866/744-7778.  For calls from out of NC, use their local number of 704/377-1100. Although they are open 24 hours a day, you may wish to call weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for non-emergency questions.

The friendly staff at this full service library can help you research any medical topic using their up-to-date computers, databases, journals and books.  No previous research experience or medical knowledge is required. Click here for details or call them at 704-384-6393.

MedLinePlus

This service of the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health is one of the better one-stop shops for beginning your search on the internet for medical information.  For those of you who live in Mecklenburg and Union counties in NC, we recommend that you contact the Health Library for more personal assistance from the experts there in searching for reliable medical information. Click here for their details.

Click to link to any of these lists of national groups: 

The Self-Help Sourcebook OnLine Index
The Genetic Alliance
NORD (National Organization for Rare Diseases) Database

Click here to branch to the American Self-Help Clearinghouse listing of toll-free phone numbers for a wide variety of topics.