Erie County Aging — Free Caregiver Support Groups in Buffalo, NY
The Erie County Department for the Aging runs free caregiver support groups across the Buffalo metro and surrounding communities in Western New York. As Erie County’s designated Area Agency on Aging, the Department for the Aging serves as the local hub for the federally funded National Family Caregiver Support Program, offering caregivers a coordinated combination of peer support, respite vouchers, education, and connection to community services.
What to Expect
Erie County offers a network of free caregiver support groups that meet in person and online across the county. Sessions are facilitated by trained staff and follow a confidential, peer-driven format. Groups address the full range of family caregiving — dementia, chronic illness, mobility decline, end-of-life planning, and the emotional weight of long-term caregiving. The Department also runs Powerful Tools for Caregivers, an evidence-based education series that builds practical self-care skills over six weekly sessions, plus respite voucher programs that give caregivers paid breaks from caregiving.
Who This Group Is For
Groups serve any unpaid family caregiver in Erie County — adult children, spouses, partners, siblings, grandchildren, and friends caring for an older adult or an adult with a disability. The program also supports grandparents and older relatives raising children. There’s no income test for the support groups. The Department for the Aging is part of NY Connects, the state’s no-wrong-door system for long-term services and supports, so caregivers can use a single phone call to access support groups and the broader network of senior services.
Why Peer Support Works
Buffalo caregivers often describe a strong sense of community but a hard logistical reality — long winters, distances within the county, and the same exhausting unpaid work that caregivers face everywhere. A regular peer support group adds a consistent, professionally facilitated layer to the informal networks caregivers already lean on. Over time, the group becomes a small steady community of others who understand the work.
How to Join
All support groups and Department for the Aging caregiver services are free. To find a group near you or get matched to services, call NY Connects at (716) 858-8526 or visit erie.gov/aging/caregiver-support-groups. Staff conduct a brief intake to match each caregiver to the right combination of group support, education classes, respite, and community resources.