The Tree House Program uses an open-ended model with bi-weekly sessions from September through May with a total of 18 sessions. Presently 51 families are enrolled and 62 children attend the Bronxville Tree House. Families may join the program as their need arises and it is not time limited. Families commit to stay at The Tree House until they decide they are ready to leave. Typically families stay with us for 1-2 years.
Support begins with the initial intake and extends beyond Tree House sessions. On-going staff support is always available to our families and schools, as is our individual counseling program. BCW does charge a small fee for individual counseling and creative art therapy, but funds from The Community Fund Grant will be used to offset the fee and a sliding scale is available.
With limited staff, and the increase in demand for more out of session support, more resources are being utilized. BCW staff also provides additional assistance in the form of consultations with schools as requested to discuss the student’s behavior, emotional well-being, and academic challenges impacted by their grief.
How grieving children adjust and cope with their loss depends a great deal on the initial period of grieving and the level of psychological and emotional safety in the environment that surrounds them.
The Tree House, with it’s age appropriate groups, provides the support and care bereaved children need to cope with the loss of their family members. This peer group environment allows each child to express painful and conflicting feelings and thoughts about loss through telling his or her own story, listening to the stories of peers who have also experienced a loss, completing art projects, journal writing and simply learning that he or she is not alone. At the same time, the parents/guardians meet together. They have the comfort of knowing, while they are in their own safe place, that their children are in a caring environment where they are getting the support they need.”
In addition to having Tree House programming in the BET area, our School Outreach Program is activated as soon as there is an impactful loss in the community. Staff are at the ready and prepared to provide in person and virtual support to staff and administrators, as well as availability for parents/guardians who need support in the aftermath of a tragedy and loss.
This support can be ongoing after a death, and BCW staff have been readily accessible to support the BET school communities. Grief is far reaching and pervasive, the recent tragedies in Crestwood/Eastchester* illustrated the uncertainty and necessity.
Griese, B., Burns, M. R., Farro, S. A., Silvern, L., & Talmi, A. (2017). Comprehensive grief care for children and families: Policy and practice implications. The American journal of orthopsychiatry, 87(5), 540–548. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000265
The Tree House was created to be a place of comfort and healing specifically for families with children that have experienced the death of a parent or sibling. They offer peer support groups designed for children (ages 4-18), as well as a separate group for the parent(s) or guardian(s).
The goal of the Tree House program is to bring families together as they go through the process of grieving. This program creates a safe and caring environment where both adult and child receive the special attention needed to move through the pain of grief toward hope and healing.
This program is offered free of charge; however, they do invite families to make a tax-deductible contribution and rely on donations from families, community members, foundations and corporations.