Well, the WSA's twin mottoes: You Are Not Alone and When One is Sick... Two Need Help say it all!

WSA is a community of spousal caregivers who understand the daily trials and challenges of being a spousal caregiver. We're here to help!

Are you looking to talk to others who are spousal caregivers?  Would you like to attend an in-person support group? Can you visualize some respite time to allow yourself a break from your caregiving duties?

If there's not a support group near you, would you like to have a WSA mentor or connect with others through our Round Robin letter writing groups? Or, perhaps our WSA Online Forum can act as your support group where none exist near you?

Find out more about our WSA memberships and programs:

A supporting Well Spouse Association member pays yearly membership dues, entering into a mutual support relationship with the organization.  Membership dues are $30 per year within the USA and $35 for our international members (or $45/$50 for two years). No well spouse is denied membership due to financial hardship.  If you cannot afford the full membership dues at this time, we ask that you can pay whatever you can afford (minimum $5).  Many supporting WSA members start out as members of the WSA Online Forum, which is free to join. You register for it on the Forum site. Read on for more details

Supporting Members are entitled to the following membership benefits...   

• Member Login/Member Menu
  Supporting membership gives you access to a Member menu which includes special information for these members.  Archived Mainstays and Member Minutes, revised chapters from Maggie's book - Mainstay, photos from Well Spouse events, personal stories, blogs, poems, and more.  Items in this area may be accessed from a special User Menu upon login.  Member Login username and passwords are issued by our office staff upon new memberships and follow your membership expiration.  Members may change their username and/or password from the Member Menu after login.
• WSA Online Forum
  For those members who wish to communicate with other well spouses, we offer our online forum.  This program runs on different software; therefore it requires new users to register for an account, setup your own profile, and requires a 24 hour authentification and activation period. (We want to keep it secure for our users) Visit the WSA Online Forum, register for an account, fill out the profile information, and you will receive an email from the administrator.  After at least 24 hours, please use this email to access the Forum and login the first time. Membership in the Forum only is free.
• Mainstay
  A subscription to our quarterly newsletter written by and for our members is included in your supporting membership.  (Members outside of North America will receive electronic versions of Mainstay.)  Filled with articles, poems, and stories from real people facing similar issues, our Mainstay can be delivered by mail or through a message in our Member Minute e-newsletter telling you a new Mainstay has been uploaded to the website - your choice! Please email Mainstay to submit an article, poem, story, or happenings/passings for the next newsletter.
• Member Minute e-newsletter
  Count on the Member Minute to keep you up-to- date on what's happening in Well Spouse and the spousal caregiving world.  A minute's worth of information is at your finger tips and is linked to other articles, websites, and helpful information for further reading. The Member Minute is emailed every two weeks to all supporting members in good standing who furnish a valid email address.  
• Well Spouse Association local area support groups
  Our support groups are run by generous volunteer members who have decided to give back to others by running a group.  They receive as much support from the members of the group as they give! Please see the Contact Us Menu on the left-hand side of this website to locate a group in your state. If you don't see a group in your area, consider starting a new one by becoming the group leader. 
• Mentor Program
  Members can get one-on-one support from a “veteran” caregiver, generally through email communications, but occasionally through phone calls as well. You can also provide support to others by becoming a Well Spouse mentor.  A link to sign up for the mentor program is included in the Member Menu.
• Round Robin letter-writing groups
  For members who prefer to use "snail mail" -- the postal service -- to communicate with other well spouses - this is the program for you! Round Robin groups consist of 5-7 members. The group leader starts by writing a letter, then mailing it to the first group member. When the first member receives this letter, he/she reads it, writes a letter, and forwards them both onto the next member of the group, and so on ... A link to sign up for the Round Robin program is included in the Member Menu. 
• Respite Weekends 
  Members can get away for a weekend of relaxation organized by members who wish to meet others.  Share your stories, make new friends, and get some respite from your caregiver duties. You can find the respite weekends offered on our Calendar.   
• Regional and National Conferences
  As an organization, Well Spouse receives many opportunities to pass along to members for attendance at local events and caregiver national conferences.  In addition, members receive reduced prices and scholarship opportunities to our own annual national conference, held each October.  
• Advocacy
  Part of the WSA Mission is to make healthcare and other professionals aware of the unique challenges spousal caregivers face. WSA now has a volunteer who helps us to bring the WSA voice to legislative affairs, so that we may effect change. 
• The relief in knowing You Are Not Alone . . .
  The WSA is a peer-to-peer support organization.  Members, staff, and volunteers  are all touched by spousal caregiving in their lives. Your membership includes the support and friendship of all of us who have come together in the bond as current and former spousal caregivers.

 JOIN (online)                  JOIN (by mail)