Facilitators are just there to accompany them on their journey. The object is not to help them avoid their problem, but to help them become more comfortable with the reality. At Oak Tree Corner, families start the open-ended program when they are ready, and stop coming when they are ready. Braun also relayed that once children watch the Dougy Center video, which features children talking about their own loss experiences, there is a huge change in their faces from when they arrived. Each Oak Tree Corner session begins with a dinner for the families attending the program.
Pizza helps everyone with busy schedules unwind and fill up before the peer support groups meet.
When the support groups meet, the session always begins with a talking circle where kids share information about the person that they have lost. Facilitators are trained to provide non-judgmental acceptance of individual feelings and allow the children to direct the conversation. Each evening concludes with a closing circle that includes all the adults, children and volunteers coming together for a hand squeeze, a poem, announcements and words of wisdom. Volunteers for Oak Tree Corner undergo extensive training that includes observing other groups that are already up and running. Betsey Willhelm, program director, along with Braun, conduct the 20-plus hour training sessions twice per year at Kettering Medical Center.