About Us
At A Haven we support grieving children with a family-centered approach. We acknowledge that empowering families to walk through grief together is an important piece in supporting a grieving child. Research now reveals that the number one determining factor on how a child grieves is how the parent/guardians grieve. In addition, family communication and a healthy environment can lessen the burden of grief. Knowing these factors, our focus is to support and equip these trusted adults to lead their children through grief in a healthy trust-building way and navigate grief together as a family. While also providing a safe place for children, teens, and young adults to know they are not alone in their grief.
How We Started
Our organization was co-founded by two women, Michelle Noble and Liz Dreibelbis, each with a professional background in helping children navigate through serious illness and death. In those roles they realized that a critical piece of supporting children well was often overlooked - ensuring that caregivers also had access to support and education about their child’s experience. Liz and Michelle believed that they could address that gap in care, and the idea of a family centered grief support organization began to take shape. Together, they studied a map of Pennsylvania and saw clearly that families in Chester County did not have access to grief support. With the vision and location solidified, they worked to build a place of refuge and healing for children of all ages and their caregivers, bringing A Haven to life in 2017.
OUR MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES
A Haven’s mission is to partner with grieving families by providing grief support, outreach to the community, education, and hope.
A Haven’s vision is that all of Chester County will be a safe place for grieving families.
A Haven’s core values are safety, collaboration, and hope.
Our Name and Logo
We thought we’d explain a little bit about our name and logo. We chose the name A Haven because of its definition: “a place of refuge or safety.”
When grieving - we can’t fix anything for your family - but what we can do is be there and create a safe space to work through feelings and provide tools for coping. We believe that grief is a normal natural response to loss.
Our logo is a nest. The metaphor of a nest is a place of refuge and safety. Our desire is that every time you come in contact with A Haven - you feel a sense of safety and refuge in your grief. A nest is built ‘piece by piece’ by finding, gathering, and weaving twigs and other materials together.
At A Haven, we partner with you and your family to gather and weave together support, coping skills, and grief education. Our desire is that you will continue to weave more pieces into your nest, little by little, building your safe place to grieve.