When you and/or members of your family are chronically ill, there may be friends and family members willing to help out. But responding to and coordinating such offers of help can seem too overwhelming. Here's a way to make the process work more smoothly.

A website called Lotsahelpinghands offers a way for friends and family to create a “Circle of Community” to offer assistance to a family in crisis.

Here is information from their website:

Families in crisis are often overwhelmed with many offers of help and phone calls to return. If you are looking for ways to help a friend or loved one, you can create a private community to:

• Organize well-meaning offers of help for meals delivery, rides, and visits
• Easily communicate and share updates using announcements, message boards, and photos
• Safely store vital information

Getting started is easy. Here’s how it works.

1. Visit the Create a Community Page

In literally minutes, you, a friend or family member can fill out the form on our Create a Community page. Simply enter the name of the community being created and your name and email address. Who should create the community?

2. Invite members who want to help

Next, enter the names and email addresses of those you wish to be part of your community. Start with people who have expressed interest in helping. You can keep adding names once your community is created. Members have to be invited to join your community or request membership. Members receive a “welcome” email message about the community, with sign-in information.

3. Enter volunteer tasks

Go to the Administration Tab in your community and begin posting needs with our easy to use templates. This may include dinner on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights; or rides to medical appointments on Tuesday mornings. Members are notified by email when new needs are posted. The system sends reminders to volunteers so no one forgets their commitments.

4. Add more information to your community

Now, you can add more to your community – post photos, create custom sections, add resources from our nonprofit partners, and more. And, members can post well wishes, share announcements, and send messages to the family.

Click here to visit the website of lotsahelpinghands.

The TOUCHED BY LYME blog is written by Dorothy Kupcha Leland, CALDA’s VP for Education and Outreach. Contact her at dleland@lymedisease.org.