- "An important reason to seek functional or conscious community is that it can keep you healthier in many respects."*

- "Dr. Dean Ornish, a California specialist in coronary heart disease, developed a treatment program with support groups that surprised him and his colleagues with its positive results: Chest pains diminished or went away entirely, severe blockages in coronary arteries reversed, and patients became more energetic."*

- "...Anything that leads to real intimacy and feelings of connection can be healing in the real sense of the word: to bring together, to make whole.  The ability to be intimate has long been seen as a key to emotional health; I believe it is essential to the health of our hearts as well."*

- "A study at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospitals and Columbia University in New York City revealed that, for people with heart disease, living alone is a major independent risk factor comparable to such factors as previous heart damage and heart rhythm disturbances."*

- "A team of Stanford Medical School psychiatrists, led by Dr. David Spiegel found that metastatic breast cancer patients who joined support groups lived nearly twice as long as those receiving only medical care."*

- "Several studies suggest that it is not the number of personal contacts that affects people's health, but the degree to which people perceive that they have someone they can turn to."*

-"Psychologists at the University of Washington concluded that even supportive actions and words do not necessarily translate into perceived support. 'It all depends on whether your social support comes from someone you believe truly loves, values, and respects you,' concluded one of the researchers, Dr. Gregory Pierce."*   

* "The Healing Powers of Community: How Creating Community Can Enrich-Even Prolong-Your Life" by Carolyn R. Shaffer and Kristen Anundsen.  Published in the Sept/Oct 1995 Utne Reader.