GOLD2023

HOPE FLOATS HEALING & WELLNESS CENTER INC

aka Hope Floats Healing and Wellness Center   |   Kingston, MA   |  www.hopefloatswellness.org

Mission

Hope Floats is a bereavement and educational center for adults, children, teens, and their families who are grieving, dealing with illness, or facing other life challenges. Our free support services bring hope and healing to those in need.

Ruling year info

2008

Director

Mrs. Denise Brack

Main address

P.O. Box 345

Kingston, MA 02364 USA

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EIN

45-0586084

NTEE code info

Single Organization Support (B11)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The isolation and despair that parents and children often feel after the death of a loved one can be crippling. After initial expressions of sympathy, caregivers and families are mainly left alone and sometimes are expected to “move on" before they have gained new coping skills to help process their grief. Offering peer-based support groups is a vital way to help families make healthy steps forward as they integrate loss into their lives. Being with one's peers in a safe setting allows group members to share, learn from, and support others walking a similar road--whether they have lost a child, a sibling, a partner, or spouse.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Mike’s Club grief groups for children and teens

We offer separate groups for children, teens, and parenting adults coping with death-related loss of a parent, caregiver, or sibling. The children process their grief through creative activities, arts and crafts, and games, with the help of our trained support staff. Families are able to connect with others who are dealing with similar circumstances in a safe and peaceful environment. Parents and caregivers meet to discuss common issues, concerns, and ways to help their children cope. Mike's Club is a free program for children 5-18 years old. Groups meet every other week during the school year and are led by Hope Floats staff, clinicians and trained volunteer facilitators.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Adults
Families
Parents
Caregivers

Family Night is for children of all ages and their families grieving the death of a loved one. A pizza dinner will be served, then children and adults will be invited to work together on a fun family art project. Family nights are led by Hope Floats staff, clinicians, and trained volunteers.
Family Nights: A group for children, teens and their families who have a member of the household dealing with cancer or a life-limiting illness

Family Night is for children of all ages and their families grieving the death of a loved one. A pizza dinner will be served, then children and adults will be invited to work together on a fun family art project. Family nights are led by Hope Floats staff, clinicians, and trained volunteers. Pizza dinner will be served.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Caregivers
Families
Parents
Adults

Adult Bereavement Groups
Support services are free of charge and open to the community. Our approach is to support people in a safe environment where they are able to share and process their grief with others facing similar losses. Our facilitators are trained volunteers who often have experienced a loss similar to the group members.
Groups include: Child Loss, Overdose and Substance Abuse Loss, Suicide Loss, Sibling and Parent Loss for Adults, and Partner/Spouse Loss.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Parents
Widows and widowers
Ethnic and racial groups

Hope Floats Education & Awareness Response Team (H.E.A.R.T.)
The goal of the Hope Floats Education, Awareness and Response Team is to raise awareness about grief through education and community outreach. This encompasses grief trainings and presentations for professionals, educators, parents/caregivers, and members of the co

Before a death –
• Training for teachers and staff on grief education and awareness and how to help a grieving child in your classroom.
• Grief education for parents
After a death – Immediate help
• Grief training for teachers and staff, including specific recommendations about the particular death that has occurred.
• Grief education for parents
• Grief education for students if requested
Transitional help –
• Therapists will come to the school for two hour "drop-in" sessions once a week for 4 weeks where teachers, staff, and students can attend. This includes risk assessment, group work and individual time with a therapist for questions and

Population(s) Served
Children and youth


Day-long Support Retreats

Our day long retreats are offered multiple times throughout the year. Retreats are specific to mothers/parents who have had a child loss, adults dealing with a suicide loss, and also retreats for people dealing with cancer and other illness. Offerings may include meditation, mindful stretching and breathing exercises, yoga, group discussion and mini-healing treatments given by our certified and talented practitioners. Treatment offerings include Reiki, chair massage, oncology facials, and more. Participants can explore the peaceful grounds and enjoy a comfort food lunch. The retreats are an opportunity for self-care and for people to meet others who dealing with similar situations.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Adults
Ethnic and racial groups
Caregivers
Parents
Widows and widowers

Where we work

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Hope Floats' goal is to support people coping with grief in a safe and nurturing environment. The goal for our peer-led groups (both for adults and children) is helping members move forward in their grief journeys sharing and processing loss with others who face similar losses. Members also connect in meaningful ways with group leaders who often have similar life experience. Overall, our goal is to offer grieving adults and children accompaniment, a place to vent and examine their grief and connections with loved ones, and acquire strategies and insights to cope in healthy ways.

Hope Floats' first strategy is to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for support group members, which means a confidential, non-judgmental setting. All of our support groups are led by trained volunteers who have similar losses as the group members. Our peer based groups are free of charge. In addition, the Hope Floats' property is a peaceful, rustic setting that reinforces our mission of healing, which in and of itself differentiates the center from medical offices and the like. Group members are also pre-screened to ensure that the group's identity and security is not compromised by individuals with substance abuse or mental health issues or those who may not be ready for a support group.

Another strategy is training our volunteer group facilitators, who most often have experienced loss, along with facilitators who are licensed therapists. Facilitators complete a training program and required to attend monthly group leader meetings for further training throughout the year. In addition, Hope Floats' support groups are offered to people experiencing different types of loss—such as for children and their families whose parents or sibling has died, a group for parents who have lost an adult child, for parents who have lost a child to overdose or addiction and for families dealing suicide loss.

The primary capability supporting our goal of providing a safe and nurturing environment is the dedication and experience of our staff and volunteer facilitators. Hope Floats is led by Denise Brack., M.Ed, who co-founded the center in 2008 after losing her son, Michael. As executive director, Denise has assembled a caring, committed team that includes six licensed therapists who see clients at Hope Floats (an option that may complement the support groups). Since 2009, Hope Floats has partnered with a local hospice to collaborate on Mike's Club, our groups for children and their families; there are about 30 families involved in this program. Hope Floats offers nine support groups for adults and families, as well as occasionally family nights and day-long support retreats. Roughly 20 volunteer facilitators and three clinicians lead these groups, women and men who most often have found some meaning following their own loss by helping others and giving back. Beginning in the spring of 2018, Hope Floats will also welcome a Support Services Administrator to assist with managing support groups, updating facilitator training, and evaluating the benefits for group members.

This network of staff and volunteers directly supports the peer-led bereavement model and its goals. For example, in Mike's Club, a support group for children, teens, and their adult caregivers, now with two groups including one for children who have lost a parent, and one for sibling loss, a team of facilitators and therapists do extensive planning and review for each session. This includes pre-meetings as team members plan the nightly theme, activities, and discuss strategies to help individual children; and a post-meeting to review how it went and evaluate how children and the adults are doing. Issues and protocols raised in these and other support group sessions are reviewed monthly during facilitator meetings and trainings, led by the Hope Floats' executive director.

Another capability supporting Hope Floats' overarching goal to offer day-long support retreats, such as for mothers who have lost a child, or parents coping with an overdose. The retreats provide a blend of intimate support groups and wellness mini-treatments as members connect throughout the day and over lunch. These are self-care days that support individuals who dealing with extreme stress and isolation.

In nine years of offering supports to grieving families, Hope Floats has already accomplished a lot. We estimate that about four thousand people have joined support groups, seen private counselors/therapists at our facility, or taken place in wellness classes and workshops. Increasingly, medical practitioners refer individuals and families to Hope Floats as our reputation has grown. Situated about forty miles south of Boston, Hope Floats' serves families across southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the suburbs south and west of the city.

Operationally we have grown as a nonprofit and expanded our funding sources with more grants, private donations, sponsorship commitments, and fundraising.

Beginning in 2016, Hope Floats has also expanded its outreach to support children, teens, and their adult caregivers. Hope Floats and Cranberry Hospice collaborated in 2016 to open Mike's Club. Beginning in the winter of 2018, Hope Floats itself organized a second group just for children who have lost a sibling and their families and added periodic family nights.

To continue expanding our outreach, Hope Floats is planning to start a Mike's Club support group for kids and their families who has a loved one dealing with cancer or life limiting illness. In 2018-19 we are also beginning a building campaign to support renovating a large garage into an all-purpose room for the children-family support groups, along with improving handicapped access.

Another indicator of our progress is attendance at our annual Memory Walk, which is our major fundraiser and a growing community event. In its fourth year in 2017, about 525 people joined the walk, and we had twenty five community sponsors.

Financials

HOPE FLOATS HEALING & WELLNESS CENTER INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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HOPE FLOATS HEALING & WELLNESS CENTER INC

Board of directors
as of 02/13/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Kenneth Brack

Kenneth B Brack

Author - Self-employed

Denise F Brack

Hope Floats Healing and Wellness Center

Jane Corr

Teacher - Retired

Elizabeth Binari

Manager at BIDH

Regina Quirk

Strategic Finanial

Janice Christo

Christo-Tyrrel Insurance

Janet Walsh

Macy's Manager

Mike Hourahan

Certified Residential Appraiser

Elizabeth McKenna

Managing Director

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No