Caring for an aging parent in San Diego is hard on you, too. Here are the free support groups, respite programs, and county resources that keep caregivers standing.
By Marcus Reyes, LSW · July 03, 2026
If you are the one managing medications, driving to Scripps or UCSD appointments, and getting up at 3 a.m. when a parent with dementia wanders, you already know how quickly caregiving fills a life. What is easy to miss is the toll it takes on you. Research consistently finds that family caregivers report higher rates of depression, anxiety, and their own health decline than non-caregivers of the same age.
San Diego County has one of the strongest caregiver-support networks in California, much of it free and much of it underused simply because families do not know it exists. A support group is not a luxury or a sign you are failing. It is how experienced caregivers keep going long enough to do the job well.
The single most useful place for a San Diego family caregiver to start is the Southern Caregiver Resource Center (SCRC), the state-funded Caregiver Resource Center serving San Diego and Imperial counties. Their services are free to family caregivers and include care planning, counseling, respite funding, legal and financial consultation referrals, and both in-person and virtual support groups. You can reach SCRC at 800-827-1008 or caregivercenter.org.
SCRC runs condition-specific groups — dementia, stroke, Parkinson's — as well as general caregiver groups, and offers sessions in both English and Spanish. Because they are funded to serve caregivers directly (not the care recipient), you do not need a diagnosis or an income threshold to call and ask for help.
If your family member has Alzheimer's or another dementia, Alzheimer's San Diego is a locally run, independent nonprofit (separate from the national Alzheimer's Association) that offers free support groups across the county, education classes, a care navigation team, and a 24-hour help line. Reach them at 858-492-4400 or alzsd.org. They host groups specifically for spouses, for adult children, and for people in the early stage of the disease themselves.
The UC San Diego Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center also connects families to clinical support and, for some, research studies that include ongoing monitoring. Dementia caregiving has its own rhythms — the grief of a slow goodbye, the behavior changes — and a dementia-specific room of people who understand it is different from a general group.
San Diego County's Aging & Independence Services (AIS) is the local Area Agency on Aging, and its Call Center at 800-339-4661 is the number to memorize. AIS connects caregivers to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), adult day programs, meal programs, transportation, and adult protective services if you are worried about a vulnerable senior's safety. The same call center handles reports and referrals countywide.
Respite — short-term relief so you can rest, work, or simply breathe — is available through several channels: SCRC respite grants, adult day health centers such as St. Paul's PACE and George G. Glenner Alzheimer's Family Centers (with locations serving central and South Bay San Diego), and in-home respite from licensed Home Care Organizations. If a support group teaches you one thing, it is usually this: build respite in before you hit the wall, not after.
Pick one call this week. Southern Caregiver Resource Center (800-827-1008) is the best single starting point because they can route you to everything else. Ask specifically about a support group that fits your situation — day or evening, in person near you or online, English or Spanish, general or condition-specific.
Most groups let you attend once with no commitment. Go twice before you decide it is not for you; the first visit is mostly listening. And if leaving the house is the barrier, virtual groups over video have become standard since 2020 and remove the exact problem — no one to watch your parent — that keeps so many caregivers home. A free local senior advisor can also help you line up care options so you can step away for an hour.
Free, no-pressure call. We work for families, not facilities.