September Monthly KEIKI SibShop Event

Bereaved siblings from 7-14 years of age are invited to participate in Let Grace In's first Sibshop. It will be a drop off event and include lunch for your KEIKI.    Emily Holl of the Sibling Support Project will be here from Seattle to guide the facilitation (see Emily's bio below).  What is a SibShop?

Keiki will :

• Meet other bereaved sibs
• Have fun
• Talk about being a grieving a sib with others who “get it”
• Play some great games
• Explore how other siblings handle situations
• Laugh
• Have some more fun!

The Sibshop curriculum is used throughout the United States and Canada and in Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Argentina, Ecuador, Iceland, Ireland, England, Italy, Malta, Singapore, and Turkey.

Most Sibshops around the country are for sibs of kids with special developmental concerns, including intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Increasingly, Sibshops are being offered for brothers and sisters of kids with health concerns and for sibs of kids with mental health concerns.  While Sibshops were developed for sibs in the 8-13 year-old age range, Sibshops (depending on the community) are being offered for sibs as young as six and increasingly for teens as well.  Let Grace In SibShops will support grieving siblings. 

In the spring of 2005, University of Washington colleagues Amanda Johnson and Susan Sandall conducted an online survey of adults (ages 18-34, n=30) who had participated in Sibshops as children, and confirmed that when it comes to the lasting impact of Sibshops, there’s lots of good news to share.

Here are just a few of their findings:

• Over 90% of the respondents said Sibshops had a positive effect on the feelings they had for their siblings;
• Sibshops taught coping strategies to over two-thirds of respondents;
• Three-fourths reported that Sibshops affected their adult lives; and
• 94% said they would recommend Sibshops to others.

The authors state that the “results show that many aspects of the Sibshop program appeared to serve as protective factors for siblings of individuals with disabilities, a population who is frequently considered at-risk” and the “study shows that these positive results last into adulthood.” The study concluded, “The positive effects of the Sibshop program are not only apparent, but enduring.”

 Johnson, A. B., & Sandall, S. (2005). Sibshops: A Follow-Up of Participants ofa Sibling Support Program. University of Washington, Seattle 

Emily Holl will be here from Seattle to lead the SibShop & associated training re-focused for grieving siblings.  She is the Director of the Sibling Support Project. Emily is a social worker, author, trainer, and sibling. Since 2003, she has worked in the disability field and has provided workshops, training, and groups for siblings, families, and individuals with disabilities. She has presented and written extensively on sibling issues, has conducted and published sibling research, and has facilitated future planning workshops for adult siblings and their families, and co-facilitated Sibshops for school-age brothers and sisters of children with disabilities. Upon completion of her MSW, Emily was a social worker in New York City serving families of young children with disabilities.

In 2015, Emily joined St. Paul College in Minnesota, and became the director of academic support, where she oversaw access and disability resources, participated on the College’s behavior intervention team, and served on the equity and inclusion committee.

Emily has served as a board member of the national Sibling Leadership Network (SLN), and she founded sibsNY, the New York state chapter of the SLN. Emily has written about her own sibling experiences in blogs, magazines and books such as Thicker than Water. Emily was an author and a co-editor of The Sibling Survival Guide: Indispensable Information for Adult Brothers and Sisters of People with Disabilities, published by Woodbine House in 2014.

Emily earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts, a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University, and a Master of Social Work from Hunter College at the City University of New York.

Emily and her husband Tom reside in the Greater Seattle area and have two young sons. Emily is the primary family support for her brother, and she is grateful for the “village” of people who help.

Sibshops may be “therapeutic” for kids to attend, but they are not therapy.  The Sibshop model takes a wellness perspective.