The Cancer Support Community of the Greater Lehigh Valley held an open house at their new Carbon County location, inside the Turn to Us offices at 46 W. Catawissa St., Nesquehoning.

As of Sept. 1, the Cancer Support Community will begin offering its weekly programs on Wednesdays. All programs at Turn to Us and the Cancer Support Community are free of charge to people in Carbon County affected by cancer, whether directly or indirectly.

Turn to Us has been offering cancer and autism support since 2015. For cancer support, founder and Executive Director Alicia Kline wanted to offer help in three areas: financial assistance, connections to resources and emotional support.

They already have an excellent financial assistance program, helping cancer survivors help with utility and medical bills. They work with the local hospital networks - St. Luke’s University Hospital Network and Lehigh Valley Hospital Network - for the resources for patients and their families.

“We were looking for a partner to help with the emotional support,” Kline said. “After meeting representatives from Cancer Support Community, I just knew that this partnership was going to be perfect.”

Jen Sinclair, program director of Cancer Support Community, said, “We offer a comprehensive program for anyone affected by cancer; that includes the patient, their family members and their friends. The program includes support groups, education seminars, stress reduction or healthy lifestyle programs, expressive arts, social activities; anything that is meant to empower an individual, help them reduce their stress, and be better consumers of their care.”

Cancer Support Community offers up to 90 different programs at their home base on Marcon Boulevard in Allentown. Over the years, with special grant funding and through special relationships with the local hospital networks, they have been able to bring some of their classes to the outlying areas of their service region.

“Through our collaboration with ‘Turn to Us,’?” Sinclair said, “we are able to have more of a presence in Carbon County by offering weekly classes right here. We’re very pleased with that because we know it’s difficult during treatment for folks to come all the way down to Allentown. We want to provide as much support as possible for people who need it; especially folks who live in an underresourced area.”

Funding for Cancer Support Community’s new location was provided by the United Way of Carbon County and the Carbon County Community Foundation.

Their September schedule:

Sept. 1: Noon, Labyrinth (a meditation practice)

Sept. 8: Noon, A to ZZZ, Sleep and Cancer

Sept. 15: Noon, Fall Crafting Session

Sept. 22: Noon, Gentle Yoga

Sept. 29: Noon, Intro to QiGong

Registration is required: 570-732-4220. All are asked to wear a mask. For more information, visit the websites www.cancersupportglv.org and www.turntousinc.org.

“We share more than a mission,” Sinclair said. “We share the drive, we share the passion; it really made sense to team up. We both agree that you can do so much more when you work together.”