
Chronic Hope Cares
Support, Advocacy, Connection, & Resources for all Spoonies
Our Origin Story
Chronic Hope Cares is the non-profit sister company of Chronic Hope Counseling. Jennifer Sutton opened Chronic Hope Counseling in 2019. While she loved counseling and being a practice owner, she found herself feeling very limited in how she could help the chronic pain/illness community she loved so much.
Counseling was fantastic, but she wanted to be able to do more. She heard stories from her clients of being mistreated in hospitals and not being able to afford medical bills or ramps to get their wheelchairs in their houses. Jennifer also experienced firsthand how horrifically mistreated and forgotten people with chronic pain/illness and disabilities can be. So, in 2021, she founded Chronic Hope Cares.
This non-profit is the heart and soul of the Chronic Hope organizations. Here, we support Spoonies and their loved ones and let them know they are welcomed, wanted, and cared for. We aim to make their world more accessible, less complicated and more empathetic.
We’re so glad you’re here!
Our Mission
What does disability look like? Do you have a certain image pop up in your head when you think of a person with a disability? We want to shatter that image. Disability looks like you, it looks like me, it can look like everyone. There are millions of people living with physical disabilities, Going about their day blending in with the “normies”!
Chronic Hope Cares strives to lessen the gap between chronic pain/illness/disability and the rest of the world. We aim to create support, advocacy, connection, and resources for all spoonies. Sometimes that looks different from season to season and year to year, because of that, we take the recommendations and ideas from those who reach out to us into consideration. We seek to make the world more accessible for those who cross our paths. To minimize the feelings of loneliness by creating a Spoonie community where people with unique struggles can get together physically and virtually to become stronger. And provide financial support for those finding themselves struggling with medical bills, having barriers to seeing doctors for financial reasons, or needing support gaining access to any medical accessibility items.
Chronic Hope Cares provides resources and education for all spoonies, caregivers and other people in Spoonie’s lives. The medical system isn’t built for chronic conditions. It’s built around healthy people who find themselves in acute unhealthy situations. Our bodies didn’t make us disabled, the world made us disabled when they created a society, culture and architecture without us in mind. Let us help bridge the gaps!
The Nigel Story
We get a lot of questions about our logo: why the flying pig? So let us present you with the wonderful story of Nigel!
In 2014, our founder, Jennifer Sutton’s health started to to take a hard turn for the worse. She started to spend most of her time in bed, and every day became a struggle.
One day, she managed to get out to Pier 1 Imports, where she found a little glass-flying pig named Penelope. There was something about this adorable little pig that gave her hope. A flying pig goes against all odds and becomes something really special (and adorable!).
She rushed home and told her boyfriend (now husband) that this cute little pig had inspired her! She realized she wanted to turn her pain into something, she wanted to help others with pain, and thought flying pigs might inspire others too. Years later, when she opened Chronic Hope Counseling, her inspiration of flying pigs followed her, and she decided to create a logo around the symbol.
As she does with most things in life, she turned to her sisters, Karyn and Samantha, and they brainstormed a logo together. A few hours later, out of watercolor and postcards, Karyn created the logo we all know and love, Nigel. Nigel has become a symbol of hope for all who come to Chronic Hope Counseling and Chronic Hope Cares.
What is the Spoon Theory?
Why do we refer to people as “Spoonies"?
About Our Founder
Jennifer Sutton has been a part if the chronic pain and illness community her whole life. Her pain progressed as she got older and when she was 28 she was finally diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Following this diagnosis was a flood of comorbidities. Being a part of the Spoonie community Jennifer has been driven to create resources and support for those struggling right along side her.
Jennifer opened Chronic Hope Counseling, a counseling practice focusing on working with the chronic pain and illness community in 2019, then followed that up with Chronic Hope Cares in 2021. Jennifer decided to expand to Chronic Hope Cares when she heard stories from her clients and the demands of the community and realized how limited she was in her counseling practice. Chronic Hope Cares was created as a place to support Spoonies in all they do, while trying to make their lives easier and more colorful.