Online Meeting of our Santa Barbara Multiple Sclerosis Group
Dear Friends
I hope you and your family are well and, to avoid the virus, are staying indoors as much as possible, practicing social distancing, and when you go out are using a face-covering mask as required and washing your hands on your return.
In this time of crisis and isolation, it is important to maintain contact with others, a role our monthly group meetings have tried to fulfill. To this end in this time of social distancing, we will have an online virtual meeting Friday, April 24, 12 PM - 1:30 PM to check in with folks, find out how you are doing and whether you have any special needs due to this ongoing economic and health crises, and whether you need help. Also, it would be great to hear your ideas and workarounds you have discovered to cope in the era of COVID-19: getting food and supplies, getting around, exercising.
Meeting Details
Date: Friday, April 24th, 12 PM - 1:30 PM
Leading the Meeting: Jane Fortuna, our kind caring group member and MFT, will facilitate the meeting checking in with all of you.
Getting Online: Ann Plane, group member and UCSB professor will arrange our online meeting using the latest “Zoom" application. Zoom provides audio and visual connectivity and you don’t need to download Zoom. A few days before the meeting Ann will email you an invitation and procedure to put you in the meeting. It is fast and painless. Please email Mike at
Help Coping with the Pandemic (Stay Tuned)
Living with MS on the Central Coast, in the near term, is initiating the following actions to help you cope:
- Food gift cards for those in need due to the pandemic. An email will be sent to you with a simple procedure to qualify and obtain these.
- Psychological counseling online or by phone with Jane Fortuna, MFT available at a significantly reduced cost or free to those who qualify. The procedure for signing up will be posted on our website calcoastms.org.
National MS Society
- Virtual Walk MS Saturday, April 25 exercise in a safe location and support MS research - more on this later.
- Navigators are available to provide information and resources for those in need: 1-800-FightMS (M-F 7 AM-5 PM Mountain Time)
I hope you can participate in our online meeting on April 24, 12 PM - 1:30 PM. Love to see you there. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
We wish you and yours a safe and enjoyable Easter or Passover holiday a time to connect with family and friends (but from a distance), stay well.
Mike Jack
805-886-3000