Westport native Ian Warburg’s international business career spans more than 30 years. He holds master’s degrees in organizational development, and marriage and family therapy,
In addition to his work as a therapeutically informed coach, Ian serves on the boards of the Aquaya Institute and Save Westport Now, and remains active in many business ventures. Ian “loves being a stranger in strange lands, spirited driving, alpine skiing, boating, good books, and enjoying time with wonderful friends.” He writes:
A few years ago, my friend David Gusick shared an idea with me.
It wasn’t a new company app, or technology platform. It was a simple question:
What if people living with serious illnesses had somebody to talk to? Not necessarily a therapist or doctor, but someone who understood them and what they were going through.
Having spent years working with people as they face life’s challenges, transitions and setbacks, the idea resonated with me.
From left: David Gusick, Dr. Stacey Goodman, Ian Warburg.
David was not describing was another healthcare program. It was something both simpler and harder to find: a place where people facing serious illness could gain useful information, find community, and feel less alone.
At the time, it was little more than an idea.
What happened next is remarkable.
Over the last several years, that simple idea grew into Somebody To Talk To (STTT). The Westport-based nonprofit now helps hundreds of patients and caregivers each week through live Zoom sessions.
When a family is impacted by a rare or chronic disease, life changes quickly. Doctor appointments multiply. Relationships shift. Careers are interrupted. Financial pressures may grow. And many people become socially isolated at the exact moment they most need support.
As David often says, “No rare or chronic disease patient, caregiver or family should have to figure out how to navigate their journey alone.”
That belief became the foundation of STTT.
What started in Westport now reaches patients and caregivers across the United States, Canada, Australia and beyond.
I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand what can happen in these Zoom sessions. People often arrive overwhelmed, uncertain and quiet.
Slowly, something shifts. They hear from a leading expert. They ask a question they may not have known how to ask. They listen as someone else describes an experience that sounds painfully familiar. They begin to share themselves. They find their voices.
And then they begin supporting one another.
That is the real power of STTT. The sessions give patients and caregivers useful information that can help them better understand their illness, and become more effective partners in their own care.
But they also create something just as important: community, connection, and the relief of being understood.
The diagnosis may be different, but many of the human challenges are the same: uncertainty, anxiety, grief, isolation, changing family dynamics, financial pressure, and the feeling that nobody else quite understands what you are going through.
Each STTT Zoom session begins with a brief presentation from a leading expert. It is followed by an open discussion where patients and caregivers ask questions, share experiences and learn from one another.
STTT’s weekly programming is organized around 3 speaker tracks.
“Patient Best Practices” helps patients become more informed and effective partners in their own care.
The “Spotlight Series” features leading physicians and medical professionals from institutions including Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Harvard Medical School, Vanderbilt and others.
“Relational and Emotional Support” offers perspectives that help patients and caregivers manage the emotional, relational, and practical realities of living with illness.
Ian Warburg
David describes the mission this way: “We’re helping patients develop the skills, confidence, and support network they need to better navigate their journey.”
Dr. Stacey Goodman, a nationally recognized hematologist and board member of the Amyloidosis Foundation, has been involved with STTT since its early days. She believes the program improves quality of life by reducing isolation and increasing confidence.
It may also contribute to better health outcomes by helping patients make more informed decisions, recognize problems earlier, and become more active partners in their care.
The organization is now exploring ways to bring the program to additional rare disease communities.
What has become clear is that while the diseases may be different, the human needs are virtually the same.
People need answers, yes. But they also need language. They need companionship. They need practical wisdom from others who have already walked part of the road. And they need to know that what they are feeling is not strange, weak, or theirs alone.
The July calendar is included below. Someone reading this may need it. Or someone reading it may know a friend, neighbor, colleague or family member who does.
Living in Westport, it’s easy to assume that the world’s biggest challenges exist somewhere else. The truth is that rare and chronic disease affects families everywhere, including right here in our own community.
What began as a conversation between friends in Westport is now helping hundreds of patients and caregivers each week find information, community, connection, confidence and hope.
Not a bad return on a simple idea.
And not a bad reminder of what people need most when life becomes challenging and uncertain: Somebody to talk to.
(For the Somebody To Talk To website, and more information, click here.)
