Fernside: A Center for Grieving Children
625 Eden Park Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45202
School-Based Grief Support Programming
Dater grant funds will support two of Fernside’s fastest growing and most impactful programs – the School Program and the Crisis Program. These two programs comprise all of Fernside’s school-based grief support programming. Collectively, they are projected to serve 525 individuals over the 2022-23 school year (420 students in grief support groups + 105 individuals through education/consultation = 525). The School Program provides onsite support groups for students that are grieving the loss of a loved one, most commonly a parent or a sibling. The Crisis Program provides large scale intervention to an entire school, most commonly following the death of a student. Both programs are grounded in best practices, and have been extremely impactful for grieving students. Because of the support of partners like the Dater Foundation, both programs are provided 100% free of charge and available to any school in Fernside’s 23 county service area.
Program Goals:
In October of 2022, the Charles H. Dater Foundation (Dater Foundation) provided Fernside: A Center for Grieving Children (Fernside) a $30,000 grant to support its school-based programs- the School and Crisis Programs - over a one-year grant term (7.1.2022 to 6.30.2023). The original goals of the program can be seen below:
PERFORMANCE MEASURE ONE: 420 grieving students will learn coping skills by participating in a School Program or Crisis Program grief support group
PERFORMANCE MEASURE TWO: 105 individuals will learn tools and strategies to support children and teens coping with grief through Crisis Program education and consultation
PERFORMANCE MEASURE THREE: 75% of grieving students participating in support groups will increase ability to handle their grief
PERFORMANCE MEASURE FOUR: 75% of grieving students participating in support groups will increase ability to express feelings and increased comfort talking about death
PERFORMANCE MEASURE FIVE: 90% of grieving students participating in support groups will increase ability to identify with others who are grieving
PERFORMANCE MEASURE SIX: 90% of teachers/counselors will observe improvements in students' behavior and emotional states
Program Results:
PERFORMANCE MEASURE ONE: 554 grieving students learned coping skills by participating in a School Program or Crisis Program grief support group
PERFORMANCE MEASURE TWO: 115 individuals learned tools and strategies to support children and teens coping with grief through Crisis Program education and consultation
PERFORMANCE MEASURE THREE: 85% of grieving students increased their ability to handle their grief
PERFORMANCE MEASURE FOUR: 82% of grieving students increased their ability to express feelings and comfort talking about death
PERFORMANCE MEASURE FIVE: 90% of grieving students increased their ability to identify with others who are grieving
PERFORMANCE MEASURE SIX: 100% of teachers/counselors observed improvements in students' behavior and emotional states.
While School-Based Grief Support did not surpass the record 571 students served in support groups during the record breaking 2021-22 school year, the 554 students served represents the second highest number on record. In addition to the reach of programming, it also fulfilled its intended purpose – to provide coping skills and meaningful connections to students grieving the loss of a loved one. The impact of the program on individual students is captured in the evaluation results, which are provided in the ‘Actual Results’ section of this proposal. The impact of the Dater grant is also reflected in anecdotal feedback captured from students, some of which can be seen below:
“Being able to open up without the typical ‘Oh I’m so sorry’ is like a breath of fresh air”
“I can get all of my sadness out.”
“Fernside has meant so much to me because I’m learning how to cope with the death.”
Website:
http://www.fernside.org Amount: $30,000
Date: September 2022
