Free Chronic Illness Peer Support — Online | Generation Patient

Generation Patient runs free, community-led virtual peer-support groups for young adults (ages 18-35) living with chronic and rare medical conditions. Created and led by young adults with chronic conditions, these groups offer a space to share experiences, trade coping strategies, and connect with others who understand what it is like to navigate school, work, and relationships alongside ongoing health challenges.

What to Expect

Meetings are held over Zoom and are facilitated by trained members of the community rather than clinicians. Discussions cover topics relevant to living as a young adult with chronic illness — coping with unpredictability, managing stigma, talking about illness with friends, and self-advocacy. Sessions also include poetry workshops, casual chats, game nights, and art activities. These are peer-support spaces, not medical or group-therapy sessions, so no diagnosis is required to join.

Who This Group Is For

The General group welcomes any young adult patient with a chronic medical condition. A Higher Education/Student group supports current, prospective, or recent college and graduate students, and a dedicated group serves young adults living with IBD. To protect members’ privacy, meetings are open only to young adult patients.

Why Peer Support Works

Living with a chronic condition in early adulthood can be isolating, and peers who share that experience offer understanding that is hard to find elsewhere. Connecting with others facing similar challenges can reduce isolation, normalize difficult emotions, and surface practical strategies drawn from lived experience.

How to Join

All groups are free. Registration is required and is handled separately for each meeting via the group’s virtual meetings page. Questions or access needs can be directed to peersupport@generationpatient.org.