Program areas at Annie's Hope / The St Louis Bereavement Center for Young People
Camp courage is a four night/five day overnight camp for grieving kids ages 6 - 11 years. Camp courage teens (formerly camp erin St. Louis) is a four night/five day overnight camp for grieving teens ages 12 - 18. These two camp experiences provide an opportunity for bereaved children and teens to meet each other, thus, decreasing their sense of isolation, increasing their sense of normalcy, improving their coping skills, empowering them to try new things, enhancing their self-esteem, returning joy to their heart, and stimulating a (re)discovering of Hope for their future. Camp courage served 91 unique children while camp courage teens served 42 for a total of 133. 84 unique adults attended closing ceremonies. Altogether, 217 kids and adults were served at our two grief camps.
School support & education provides three dimensions of service: school-based support groups for grieving students at their school, during The school day; grief education to school personnel and/or students; crisis intervention response for sudden deaths among school staff or students. In 2022, 28 sets of school-based support groups were held consisting of 177 students and 28 adults for a total of 205. Two grief education seminars assisted 135 adults. Crisis intervention support was provided through 23 requests with 174 students and 89 adults being served for a total of 263. School support & education served 351 students and 252 adults for a grand total of 603.
Family support groups exist to unite grieving families in a safe, comfortable, non-judgmental environment, whereby, their sense of isolation is decreased, their sense of normalcy is increased, their coping skills are improved, they feel more capable and empowered to manage their grief, they are more educated about The grief process, adults are more confident supporting The children in their care, and together they (re)discover Hope for their future. In 2022, there were five sets of family support groups serving 110 families consisting of 188 kids, ages 3 - 18, and 132 adults for a total of 322 participants.
Horizons, social events, teen retreats, speaker institute, community, grief referral services, Hope & healing gathering and community resource library.