Grief Program for Children and Teens
Children and Teens Support Groups
CREATING TREASURED MEMORIES
The needs of the whole child is addressed through the support programs offered at Roberta’s House. It serves children with the understanding and commitment that no child (or adult) should grieve alone. Children and adults grieve differently. Following the death of a loved one, children often have many questions. At Roberta’s House, children can explore their questions as they are ready. It’s a place where they receive support and encouragement from their peers and caring adults; it’s a place where they can have fun while creating treasured memories to honor their loved ones and move forward embracing their new life with the memories.
CAMP ERIN® BALTIMORE
Camp Erin® Baltimore is a bereavement camp designed for children ages 6 – 17. Camp Erin blends the familiar environment of a fun-filled, high energy overnight camp with grief counseling, education, and emotional support. Through Camp Erin, children and teens with similar grief experiences have the opportunity to meet, make lasting friendships, and become camp buddies. Camp Erin teaches children how to cope with the loss of a loved one; children also learn to have fun again. The campsite is on the campgrounds of North Bay, right on the Chesapeake Bay. Camp activities include games, swimming, hiking, canoeing, zip lines, arts and crafts and more. Trained volunteers and professional counselors help guide the youth in sharing their stories, expressing their pain safely, and creating good memories. Camp Erin® Baltimore is in partnership with the Eluna Network. This year Camp Erin Baltimore will host a two day in person camp experience on August 12th – August 14th.
CHANGING THE GAME
Changing the Game empowers high-risk teens ages 13-17 who’ve experienced multiple losses with the wisdom and understanding of how to transform their lives to create a productive, purposeful life for themselves and society. This program addresses loss, the absent parent, coping skills, developing a new outlook on life. It teaches how to create a vision and mission statement. The teens also gain insight through field trips. The program concludes with participants completing job applications or secondary school applications. This program is held on Thursdays, for 24 weeks, from 4 pm – 6 pm.
IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMS GRADES K-12
GOOD GRIEF WORKSHOPS and GROWING THROUGH LOSS
Roberta’s House offers two in-school-grief programs for grades K-12. The Programs, “Good Grief” and “Growing through Loss,” provide immediate intervention in Baltimore city schools. This grief support program helps children learn how to adapt and cope with a loss. The program supports students who experience a range of grief related challenges including isolation, panic, anger, fear, and sadness, after the loss of someone special. The programs also help faculty and staff with understanding grief, how to cope and what to expect from a child having a grief experience. Both programs are offered throughout the school year.
PEER AMBASSADORS
When students return to school after a death, their peers are uninformed and unprepared on how to interact properly with the grieving student. The Peer Ambassadors program was developed to encourage peer-to-peer mentoring for students who are grieving.
This program serves in a proactive role of peers supporting peers through their grief journey to process their grief experience.
Counseling Services for Children & Teens
