The Sibshop Collaborative of the North East

105 Elliot Street

Danvers, MA  01923

978-777-SCNE

Sibshopcollaborativene@gmail.com

An exciting program just for brothers and sisters (4-7, 8-13 or Teens) of a child with any developmental, behavioral health, medical or mental illness. At a Sibshop brothers and sisters will:

2009 – 2010 Sibshop Calendar 8-13 year olds
Sponsoring Agency
Oct. 24, 2009      10am-2pm        National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
                                                NSMC Family Resource Center at North Shore Children’s Hospital

Nov. 11, 2009   10am-2pm         NS Arc, Family Resource Center (Veteran’s Day Holiday)
                                                The Arc of East Middlesex
                                                                                                        
Dec. 12, 2009     10am-2pm         NS Education Consortium
NSMC Family Resource Center, NS Children’s Hospital (MLK holiday)
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

Feb. 16, 2010     10am-2pm         NS Arc, Family Resource Center (Tuesday of School Vacation)
The Children’s Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf

Apr. 20, 2010       10am-2pm      NS Arc, Family Resource Center (Tuesday of School Vacation)
The Children’s Center for Communication/ Beverly School for the Deaf
The Arc of East Middlesex

Jul. 17, 2010     Noon-2pm         Annual Sibshop Cookout for siblings of all ages participating and any new
siblings ~ sponsored  by all agencies in the Collaborative!

4-7 year olds
Nov. 7, 2009      9:30am- 12pm    The Arc of East Middlesex
Mar 20, 2010     9:30am- 12pm    The Arc of East Middlesex

Teens & Adults
Please contact The Arc of East Middlesex for specific dates & times.

Mail fee 7 days ahead to reserve ($20 for 8-13yr olds, $15 for 4-7 yr olds)

In This Issue
Upcoming Family Rounds
Behavioral Health Library additions
Collaborative Community Projects
Family Support Programs

Subscribe to Our Newsletter!
Family Rounds May 2009
Our upcoming talk in a series for parents and professionals...

May 28th ~ 12-1:30pm

- Recreational Peer Support for Children with Brothers and
Sisters with Special Needs

Presenters: Sibshop Facilitators,

Sibshop Collaborative of the North Shore

Sibshops are best described as opportunities for brothers and sisters of children with special medical, behavioral health, or developmental needs to obtain peer support and education within a recreational context. Sibshops are events and celebrations of the many contributions made by brothers and sisters of kids with special needs. The Sibshop model intersperses information and discussion activities with new games designed to be unique,fun and appealing to a wide ability range. They acknowledge that at times being the brother or sister of a person with special needs is for some a good thing, others a not so good thing, and for many somewhere in between. Sibshops take a wellness approach, are not therapy, but do provide siblings with peer support and acknowledge that most brothers and sisters of people with special needs, like their parents, are doing well despite the challenges of an illness or disability.

Sibshops reflect an agency's commitment to the well being of the family member most likely to have the longest-lasting relationship with the person with special needs.


Four years ago Don Meyer, creator of the Sibshop model, came to NSMC from Seattle to hold a two-day workshop on "Siblings of Children with Special Needs" which was co-sponsored by several agencies: NAMI MA, NS Educational Consortium and the NSMC Family Resource Center. Many parents and professionals attended. Soon after the "Sibshop Collaborative of the North East" was formed with NS ARC Autism Support Center, Beverly School for the Deaf and the ARC of East Middlesex. The collaborative of six community agencies has been holding Sibshops monthly throughout the school years ever since. For the first two years until May 07 (photo to right), Sibshops were held at rotating locations where the sponsoring agency and facilitators were located.


Two summers ago we accepted an opportunity to lease space in Danvers, at 105 Elliot Street.The former the old two -room "Williams School, now houses the Danvers Art Association and Sibshop Collaborative. Our hope was to create a permanent location for Sibshops with more than 100 siblings and their families coming from over 40 towns. Since then our siblings have made the home very much their own. Every sibling has added a creature to the undersea mural. Artwork and photos decorate the walls . The space is filled with group energy.


Several siblings sit around "Aunt Blabby" the resident sibling advice columnist at the Sibshop last month (below). Many games of push pin soccer have been played, pumpkins carved, crafts painted and snacks of dangling donuts eaten in this happy space. Water balloon tag, bug juice relay and scavenger hunts are reserved for the ball field behind the building.

Parents and professionals are welcome to attend this Family Rounds to hear concerns and joys of young siblings, how they handle situations commonly experienced, and the implications of their brother's or sister's special needs.

Below are some helpful links and contacts:

SiblingSupport.org

Sibshopcollaborativene@gmail.com
978-777-SCNE
North Shore ARC
Beverly School for the Deaf
National Alliance on Mental Illness
North Shore Education Consortium
The ARC of East Middlesex
The Familiy Resource Center

See booklist link below for many titles on sibling issues,including those written by Don Meyer.
Sibshop Flyer new calendar

What siblings would like parents and service providers to know


As usual the lecture is FREE, intended for parents and professionals, and takes place in the Lynch Conference Room on the ground floor of NSMC North Shore Children's Hospital.

Registration is required: email Marguerite Roberts or call 978 354 2660.
Family Rounds FALL schedule coming soon...


If you have suggestions for topics or speakers, please let us know soon as we are setting up the series for the upcoming year.
The Pediatric Behavioral Health Library

for children, adolescents, parents and professionals continues to grow with well over a thousand references! Please come visit our Behavioral Health Library in the Family Resource Center, North Shore Children's Hospital on the 4th Floor.

Open Monday-Friday 12 noon - 4:00 pm.

See our new books titles added this month which are highlighted in the links below on Adolescent Development, Bullying, Adoption, Foster Care, Depression, Substance Abuse and Mindfulness/Self Help!

Children's Books link to all titles

Parents & Professional Books link to all titles

Book Donations link to Wish List books

We welcome donations and/or gently used books from either our wish list or the current titles available in our library (corresponding links above). Extra copies allow us to lend our resources to more families and professionals.


A special thanks to Hachette Book Group, Katie & Tom for their most recent donations.
Collaborative Community Projects

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation awarded the Family Resource Center a three-year grant to implement two innovative evidence-based techniques: Relapse Prevention Therapy (RPT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with the target population of adolescents with substance abuse disorders at the Recovery High School in Beverly. The program is planned collaboratively with Jefferson Prince MD, NSMC Department of Pediatric Psychiatry; Michelle Lipinski M.Ed., Principal and Jim Howland, M.S.W., LICSW, School Social Worker, North Shore Recovery High School in Beverly; and Marguerite Roberts MS, NP, NSMC Family Resource Center. Implementation of the programs developed for the students and their parents will begin this upcoming school year and continue the following year.


Staff training begain this spring with an intensive five day silent Insight Meditation Retreat at the Barre Center. To try a guided meditation of listen to talks on meditation practice visit Insight Meditation Society

The next phase of training, a 7 Day Professional training Retreat on Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction with Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli, will be taken in June.

Center for Mindfulness

The Read Family Trust has awarded another pediatric behavioral health grant, for the fifth consecutive year, in collaboration with Salem Public Schools. The focus of the program will be to analyze YRBS results (Youth Risk Behavior Survey) and implement an "S.O.S. Signs of Suicide" program with the Salem High School educators and entire staff, ninth grade students, and their parents.



SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program for secondary schools is an evidence based program of suicide prevention and mental health screening that can be implemented during one classroom period by existing school staff. The program teaches teens that depression is a treatable illness and empowers them to respond to a potential suicide of a friend or family member by using the Acknowledge Care Tell (A.C.T.) technique.

________________________________


Physician Trainings in Opiate Use and Overdose Prevention


Pediatric Grand Rounds June 23 ~ 8-9am, Lynch Conference Room, NS Children's Hospital

"From Use to Abuse: how to tell when a child is headed for trouble and what to do about it"

Presented by Michelle Lipinski M.Ed., Principal; and several students from North Shore Recovery High School, Beverly.

Other specialized programs,through the Lynn OD Prevention grant and the Family Resource Center, are in development and will be provided for Emergency Departments, community physicians and related providers through other Medical Grand Rounds on both campuses at North Shore Medical Center.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Smoking Cessation Program for Danvers High School Students


An incentive-based eight week pilot program for smoking cessation with students, in collaboration with Danvers Cares and Danvers High School, sponsored by North Shore Medical Center is currently being developed and will begin at the high school this fall.

Thank you again to Jurelis for graciously volunteering in the Family Resource Center over the past two years and being always happy to help in any way. Congratulations on your high school graduation!

Thank you Belin for all the care you have taken with our Parents Helping Parents group this year. We will miss you!


Family Resource Center Family Support Programs:

ADHD Parent Support Groups [a six week series, morning and evening groups]
Bipolar Parent Support Group[monthly, the first Wednesday each month, 12-1pm]
Learn to Cope North Shore [peer parent support group for families living with a loved ones drug addiction, meets weekly Thurs. nights 7-9]
Sibshops [recreational peer support for siblings with a brother or sister with a developmental, medical or behavioral health disorder, held monthly]
Sibshop Annual Picnic for all siblings ~ Saturday, July 18th 12-2pm

Sponsored by NAMI MA and NSMC Family Resource Center at NS Children's Hospital. No fee. please RSVP sibshopcollaborativene@gmail.com

"Sibshop Siblings Art Show " August 1-30 at the Danvers Art Association,
All artwork is by children and teens through the Sibshop Collaborative of the North East - Opening Reception Sat August 1st 12-4pm Show hours every weekend Sat and Sun 12-4pm

www.danversart.org for more information and directions

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren [meets 1st and 3rd Monday of the month from 11-12]
Parents Helping Parents [parent support, meets weekly, free, confidential and anonymous] For more information, check our website nsmcfamilyresourcecenter.org or call 978.354.2660
As always, all Groups are Open and Ongoing.

Sincerely,

Marguerite Roberts, MS, NP Ivette Thomson, Care Coordinator
NSMC Family Resource Center NSMC Family Resource Center/MCPAP
North Shore Children's Hospital North Shore Children's Hospital
sibshopcollaborativene@gmail.com

NSMC Family Resource Center | NSMC North Shore Children's Hospital | 57 Highland Avenue | Salem | MA | 01970