FCA — Free Family Caregiver Support — Bay Area, CA
Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) serves as the Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center — one of 11 state-funded Caregiver Resource Centers across California. For more than 40 years, FCA has provided free or low-cost support to families caring for adults with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and other chronic conditions. Services span the nine-county Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.
What to Expect
FCA’s signature offering for Bay Area caregivers is its peer support groups, which meet by video and phone throughout the month. Groups include a general family caregiver group, a Spanish-language caregiver group, a Chinese-speaking caregiver group, an LGBTQ+ caregiver group, and groups focused on specific conditions like dementia or Parkinson’s. Sessions are facilitated by trained social workers who hold the space for honest conversation about exhaustion, guilt, sibling tension, and the slow work of accepting a loved one’s decline. Members also gain access to FCA CareNav, a secure online platform that delivers tailored education, planning checklists, and follow-up from FCA staff.
Who This Group Is For
The Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center is built for adult family caregivers — spouses, adult children, siblings, partners, and chosen family — who are caring for someone with a serious physical or cognitive condition. There’s no income test for support groups or CareNav, though some services like respite vouchers and legal consultations are means-tested. New caregivers in the Bay Area are typically asked to complete a brief assessment so FCA can match them to the right combination of group support, education, and one-on-one care planning.
Why Peer Support Works
Family caregivers often describe their role as invisible — long hours, emotional weight, and a steady accumulation of small medical and logistical decisions that no one else sees. FCA’s peer groups break that isolation by putting caregivers in regular contact with people who understand without needing the backstory. Members share strategies that worked, name the feelings they can’t say out loud at home, and over time build a network of others to lean on. FCA’s longevity in the Bay Area means many members have walked alongside other group members through years of changing care needs.
How to Join
To join an FCA support group, contact the Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center at (800) 445-8106 or info@caregiver.org. Visit caregiver.org/connecting-caregivers/bay-area-caregiver-center for the current group schedule, intake form, and CareNav signup. Caregivers outside the Bay Area can use the Family Caregiver Alliance’s services-by-state tool to find their local Caregiver Resource Center. All support groups are free; some other FCA services are offered at sliding-scale or no cost depending on need.