Ted E.

Bear Hollow is committed to serving grieving children and families, because we

know that youth who experience the death of a loved one are: 5x more likely to die by suicide. 9x more likely to drop out of high school. 10x more likely to engage in substance abuse. 20x more likely to experience behavioral disorders, depression, health problems, poor school performance, anxiety, and numerous other life-limiting complications.*
* (US Census Bureau, National Principals Association, Center for Disease Control)

2013 Services At-A-Glance

Kids-Centered, but More than Kids
With your support, were currently serving approximately 700 unique children, teens and adult caregivers annually through peer-to-peer support groups, day camps, and overnight retreats. Although better known for our services for children, Ted E. Bear Hollow also facilitates a young adult group and an adults helping adults group. Our young adult group grew from 97 attendees in 2012 to 127 in 2013. During each support group series, the children and adults served share a community meal and participate in developmentally appropriate break-out groups. Adults accompanying the children are required to attend concurrent support group sessions -- a measure designed to provide them with the oxygen mask necessary to deal with their own grief in order to support the children in their care. Both the adults and children are thus given tools for their self-sufficiency. Moreover, they experience their value as peers in a supportive community and subsequently model this behavior in their respective families and neighborhoods.

Community Awareness and Consultation

Our program staff consults with schools and organizations to provide training and develop support plans before and following a death in order to provide grief support beyond our walls. In 2013, we worked with several, including, but not limited to, the following. Universities: Clarkson College, UNO, UNMC, College of Saint Mary, Creighton University, Kaplan University Schools: Omaha Public Schools, Elkhorn Public Schools, Fremont Public Schools, Millard Public Schools, Papillion-LaVista Public Schools, Parrish Alternative Education Center, Conestoga Public Schools, ESU #11 Social Service Agencies: Red Basket, North Omaha Healthy Families, Mary Lanning Hospice (multiple agencies), Behaven, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska Crisis Response, Inter-Service Family Assistance Committee (multiple agencies), KidSquad, Sarpy County CASA, Metropolitan Child Advocacy Coalition (multiple agencies), Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging (multiple agencies), ALS in the Heartland, Heart Ministries

Outreach to Underserved Populations

Ted E. Bear Hollow employed two outreach coordinators in 2013 to raise awareness of the need for and availability of FREE grief support services in our community. We reached into certain urban and rural geographic areas to break down barriers to support for underserved minorities and low income families. Because of this, we are anticipating even greater numbers of low-to-moderate income families utilizing our free services in 2014. Open grief support groups or day camps are now offered in North and South Omaha, Council Bluffs, and Cass County in addition to Ted E. Bear Hollows central Omaha headquarters. Many of our materials are now offered in Spanish, and bilingual facilitators have been utilized. Currently, approximately 35% of the individuals we serve have low income. Many more may be characterized as low-to-moderate income families. We anticipate an increase in this percentage due to our outreach efforts over the past two years. 2013 Populations Served
Hispanic or Latino 3% Other 2% African American or Black 12% Surrounding Area 21% NW Omaha 19%

Continuing Education Opportunities

In 2013, our 20-hour Child Grief Facilitator Training was offered 3 times, engaging 51 new facilitators. This training is a prerequisite for anyone hoping to become a Ted E. Bear Hollow facilitator but is also geared toward: mental health professionals, school personnel, other service providers, and anyone who is interested in making a difference in the lives of grieving children, teens, and families either personally or professionally. CEUs are awarded. Additional continuing education workshops were offered to enhance facilitators skill levels on topics such as working with children with disabilities In September 2013, we launched our new Grief 101 training -- designed for area professionals desiring to become more adept in grief work yet not planning to facilitate a support group. Due to popular demand, we will offer it 2 times in 2014.

SE Omaha 11%

Caucasian or White 83%

SW Omaha 19%

NE Omaha 17%

7811 Farnam Drive Omaha, NE 68114 402.502.2773 www.tedebearhollow.org

What does 2014 hold?

Objective 1: Deliver best-in-class grief programming.
ACTIVITIES:
Our current support group attendees are the first to experience a new curriculum the TEBH Program Director and her team developed in mid-2013. Standardized assessments, which are administered throughout each 8-session series, reveal positive outcomes. On average, adult caregivers report that their children progress 35 points on their grief journey, from 33 to 68 on a scale of 100. 96% of caregivers completing the final evaluation stated they would refer this program to other families. What good is best in class programming if too few people are experiencing it? When Ted E. Bear Hollow moved into our current facility three years ago, the number of people we served increased significantly, then plateaued. Were eager to expand the number were serving yet again . . . not by expanding physically but by increasing the hours of our paid staff and, subsequently, the number of hours were able to schedule and facilitate groups and camps. Our outreach staff are enthusiastic about refining their focus and will concentrate their relationship-building with specific programming partners in 2014. They are assessing a number of schools and agencies according to a collaboration logic model and are keeping track of the amount of time spent on each assessment and followup so that we know how many relationships to plan for (seek funding for) in 2014. The idea is not to have outreach staff sell other organizations on our work, but to build strong relationships and specific programming plans to meet each collaborating organizations needs. Our Program Director is currently initiating collaboration with other grief support agencies across the United States to standardize and measure outcomes across multiple programs.

Objective 3: Educate. Serve community as a

ACTIVITIES:

strong catalyst for developing awareness around how to support a grieving child.
In 2013, we commemorated National Childrens Grief Awareness Day and Nebraska Childrens Grief Awareness Week by: attending a proclamation at the state Capitol, issuing a news release, and generating a social media campaign. In 2014, were dedicating more dollars to marketing so that we can pursue a calendar year of coverage. In 2013, advertisements for our fundraising events overshadowed promotion of our free services and training opportunities. In 2014, we will to shift money to marketing for educational / awareness purposes, and a newly formed Marketing Committee will create brand standards for staff and committee use ensuring our brand resonates in all of the materials were distributing. By expanding the hours and capacity of our program support staff in 2014, they will be able to oversee more of the groups and camps thus freeing our Program Directors time to produce workshops, in-services, and trainings such as a new one day conference in November.

Objective 4: Extend our reach across Nebraska

and Iowa while maintaining quality and increasing the number of people served within the metro.
ACTIVITIES:
One of our Outreach Coordinators continues her relationship with the Fremont areas agencies and schools. Her relationship with the Inter-Service Family Assistance Committee (IFSAC) for military providers has opened doors to other agencies (potential collaborators) serving military families in Omaha and across the state. We are waiting to learn if weve been awarded a grant for her to conduct school assessments and pursue increased collaborations in the Council Bluffs area in 2014. We just hosted a Tinsel and Tears holiday day camp at Iowa Western Community College. Our other Outreach Coordinator continues to build relationships in our neighboring rural communities. She is making inroads in the Plattsmouth, Weeping Water, and Murray areas and has discovered significant buy-in from local counselors, school personnel, and volunteers. The first-ever Cass County Tinsel & Tears day camp was held at the Conestoga High School in November with 37 Cass County individuals attending. We plan to provide additional training and a day camp there in Spring 2014. By mid-to-late 2014, we will explore the idea of offering day camps such as Tinsel and Tears and KidsKamp in areas farther from the metro. If the drive time is within an hour, our families are reporting that the calendar is a more significant determinant of registration and attendance; if drive time is farther, accessibility is the larger issue. This fall, our Program Director presented in: Holdrege, Hastings, and Kearney in addition to the Omaha metro area. By expanding the hours and capacity of our program support staff in 2014, our Program Director will be available to present and train more often across the region.

Objective 2: Develop a network of partners and

ACTIVITIES:

volunteers that allows TEBH to cross all cultural and socio-economic boundaries.
Our Urban Outreach Coordinator continues her relationship with Heart Ministry Center, a multi-service agency in North Omaha. She has been participating in some of their regular activities to develop a rapport with their staff and constituents. Their Executive Director is also providing us with contacts to connect with the Sudanese immigrant population. We are currently coordinating open groups in North and South Omaha at Parrish Alternative Schools, Salvation Army, and the South Omaha Library. We received word that we were awarded a New York Life Grief Reach grant for the production of Spanish-language materials. Our Spanish-speaking contractor is finishing translation of the website and has been given a dedicated phone line and email address to be able to field questions and provide support in real time. TEBHs Spanish Language Grief Support book bags have been developed and will be made available for check out at area libraries. As we bolster our outreach to and collaboration with schools and agencies, we are letting them know that travel vouchers are provided and interpretation and other accommodations are available.

7811 Farnam Drive Omaha, NE 68114 402.502.2773 www.tedebearhollow.org