Program areas at MISS Foundation
Our 3400-square foot respite center, Andy's Sanctuary, located at the Selah Carefarm, the first therapeutic carefarm in the world, served hundreds of clients in 2022. We filled 734 room nights at Andy's Sanctuary, providing 2900 hours of traumatic grief counseling, with $300,000 of in-kind services dedicated to clients in financial need and from underserved populations. Our founder, Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, and our counselors, worked year-round with individuals through crisis interventions, counseling intensives, traumatic grief programs and retreats. Our team also cared for 50+ animals rescued from abuse and neglect, providing them with a forever sanctuary.
In 2022, we helped thousands of family members through our HOPE Mentor Program, counseling services, online forums, support groups and Selah Carefarm visits. We offered free and affordable counseling to those in need, providing more than 2900 counseling hours by highly-trained traumatic grief counselors, and 600 hours of crisis support and suicide intervention counseling. Our volunteers sent 426 support packets to grieving families. We connected 103 HOPE mentors to bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents, averaging 720 volunteer hours. Our facilitators held support groups for grieving family members (virtual and in person). We also hosted International Kindness Project Day.
Our highly-trained counselors held 32 traumatic grief programs and group retreats in 2022. The Associated Press, NPR, and CBS National News traveled to the Selah Carefarm to feature the purposeful work of our Carefarm team. Our founder, Dr. Cacciatore, was invited to share her research as a National Grief Strategy develops for the first time in U.S. history. She was also invited to present her research on the psychological impact and treatment for mothers following stillbirth to the federal task force of the NICHD Stillbirth Working Group of Council. Two major contributors furthered our staff and development needs with a $100,000 contribution. We launched our Scholarship Fund to help cover program costs for economically disadvantaged individuals in need of traumatic grief support services.