Funded by the WellMed Charitable Foundation (WCF), the free online fellowship opens in November for National Family Caregivers Month, alongside the Foundation's free caregiver summits in English and Spanish

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixty-three million Americans are caring for a parent, a spouse or a child, and most of them are doing it alone. AARP values the unpaid care family members give adults at $1.01 trillion a year, more than all U.S. Medicaid spending. Today STAR Network announced Caregiver Connections, a free, trauma-informed peer-to-peer fellowship for family caregivers that meets online, funded by the WellMed Charitable Foundation.

"Caregiver Connections is the first trauma-informed fellowship built for family caregivers," said Dr. Jamie Huysman, PsyD, LCSW, CFT, Founder and Executive Director, STAR Network. "If they stopped for a single day, our health care system would collapse, yet most of them carry it alone. Here, someone finally asks how they are, and it costs them nothing."

The fellowship opens in November, and meetings are free, confidential and never recorded. The model is built on TAR Anon®, STAR Network's peer fellowship, whose five weekly meetings welcome more than 20,000 visits a year from members in more than 20 countries.

Caregivers can register now at caregiverconnections.com.

What caregivers will find

• A place to be heard. Two trained peer mentors lead every online meeting, Mondays at 10 a.m., Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and Fridays at 8 p.m. ET. Caregivers can keep their camera off and simply listen. It is peer support, not therapy.
• A lifestyle program, not treatment. Caregivers learn everyday ways to steady themselves, from breathing practices to emotional-regulation skills drawn from polyvagal theory, dialectical behavior therapy and Internal Family Systems.
• Expert sessions, built in. The WCF's Caregiver Teleconnection, free one-hour webinars with caregiving experts, is now offered inside Caregiver Connections. Caregivers can also register by telephone at 1-866-390-6491.
• Caregiver Summits in English and Spanish. The Foundation's free Caregiver Summit brings caregivers together in this annual event, in person or online, in English on November 5 and in Spanish on November 12. Register at caregiversos.org.

"Every pastor, priest, rabbi and imam is, in one way or another, a caregiver. They're often among the first people individuals and families turn to when life becomes overwhelming. Yet we rarely think about who is caring for them. Caregiver Connections gives every congregation a free, trauma-informed way to care for the caregivers in its pews," said Thomas G. Bognanno, Chief Operating Officer of PACEs Connection and former President and CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities.

STAR Network plans to bring Caregiver Connections meetings into churches, synagogues, mosques and community centers. The program is not religious, so every caregiver is welcome.

STAR Network is also exploring how AI tools from research partners MyWhatIf Foundation and Wingman can support caregivers between meetings.

"When you spend your life caring for someone else, it's easy to lose sight of your own future. Caregivers deserve more than support to get through today. They deserve the hope and agency to imagine what comes next. That's why we're excited to partner with STAR Network and explore how MyWhatIf can help," said Omer Golan, Founder and CEO, MyWhatIf Foundation.

"Forty years as a physician taught me that when the caregiver goes down, the patient goes down with them. Caregiver Connections takes care of the caregiver. We'll judge it on results, starting with one question: is the caregiver sleeping?" said Dr. George Rapier III, Founder, The Foundation to Be Good & Do Good.

Program partners: WellMed Charitable Foundation (founding funder), MyWhatIf Foundation (research partner), PACEs Connection and NAN Navigator.

About STAR Network

STAR Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering free, trauma-informed, peer-led recovery to anyone, anywhere. Its fellowships include TAR Anon® and Caregiver Connections. Learn more at starnetwork.org.

About the WellMed Charitable Foundation

Founded in 2006 by Dr. George Rapier III, the WellMed Charitable Foundation supports older adults and their caregivers. Learn more at wellmedcharitablefoundation.org.

About MyWhatIf Foundation

MyWhatIf Foundation is a U.S. 501(c)(3) applied-research nonprofit developing personalized, AI-enabled interventions designed to help people regain hope, agency, and the ability to envision a meaningful future following trauma and major life disruption. Working with academic and clinical partners, the foundation is advancing research into safe, accessible, and scalable approaches to recovery and rehabilitation. Its programs are offered free to participants. Learn more at mywhatif.org.

About The Foundation to Be Good & Do Good

Founded by Dr. George Rapier III, The Foundation to Be Good & Do Good supports individuals and organizations across six pillars of human flourishing, from mental and physical health to food and nutrition, and asks everyone it helps to pay it forward. Learn more at tobegoodtodogood.org.

Media contacts

Carol Zernial, Executive Director, WellMed Charitable Foundation
czernial@wellmed.net | 210-877-7719

Dr. Jamie Huysman, PsyD, LCSW, CFT, Founder and Executive Director, STAR Network (available for interviews)
drjamie@starnetwork.org | 305-303-4000

Albert Ruiz Picasso, Executive Director, The Foundation to Be Good & Do Good
albert@tobegoodtodogood.org | +44 7990 736968

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SOURCE STAR Network