Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Until recently children were seen as “non-grievers" in our culture. They were expected to bounce right back after a death in the family. We know that the impact of death on children, teens, and their families is timeless and that the family circle is broken forever. When parents are so deep in their own grief, they may have little energy left to help their children. The child may feel powerless, angry, abandoned, and confused.
Research indicates that children and adults grieve differently. While adults may be somber and need to cry or talk, children often cannot put into words how they are feeling. Most children display intense expressions of grief, closely followed by a period of laughter and playing. Children tend to “close" their feelings of grief: letting in only what they can handle the reality of death.
We help children begin to accept the changes and effects of grief by helping them understand their feelings and improve their communication.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Erin's House - Grief Support for children, teens, young adults, and their families
Erin's House for Grieving Children (Erin's House) is the only stand-alone children's grief center in the state of Indiana.
Grief support groups are open at no cost to families, who have a child, teen or young adult grieving the death of a loved one.
Grief support groups meet onsite twice a month (Mon - Thursday), for ages 3-30 and for the adults in their life. There are three camps - Teen Retreat, Camp Good Grief and Family Camp, offered at no cost for the families.
Students, parents/ caregivers, and teachers receive crisis response debriefing, in a peer-support setting when tragedy and death affect their classrooms or youth groups.
Children and their parent(s)/ caregiver(s) are provided age and situational appropriate books and activity booklets at their orientation.
Telephone support is also available, free to grieving families, at 260-423-2466.
Children's grief awareness and education presentations are available to the community and educational settings.
The heart of Erin's House is the over 200 volunteer facilitators that go through 28 hours of grief training. If you are interested in volunteering for Erin's House please call the office at 260-423-2466 or www.erinshouse.org.
Erin's House for Grieving Children is a proud member of the National Alliance for Grieving Children.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients who report that services/supports are available when needed, even in a crisis
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Erin's House - Grief Support for children, teens, young adults, and their families
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of individuals served in Northeast Indiana.
Average number of service recipients per month
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of direct care staff who received training in trauma informed care
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of children served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Position Statement 1: Erin's House affirms its core commitment to the facilitation of peer-to-peer grief support for children and youth.
Strategic Priorities
a) Erin's House will seek to enhance its impact on its core population by providing training and resources for parents, educators, and youth workers.
b) Erin's House will broaden the scope of its work by seeking new venues for the delivery of its core services, based on the following considerations:
Availability of staff to deliver the program in a quality manner.
The presence of other grief support services in the area.
The short-term and long-term financial implications.
Existing relationships in the area.
c) Erin's House will explore alternative means for the delivery of resources and support, with an emphasis on the use of electronic media.
Position Statement 2: Erin's House affirms it commitment to providing services at no cost to its core clientele and will continue to pursue funding from foundations and individual donors.
Strategic Priorities
a) Erin's House will lessen its vulnerability to fluctuations in its major fundraising event by emphasizing the cultivation of individual donors.
b) Erin's House will explore opportunities for generating revenue through the provision of services to adult populations and other specialized cohort groups.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Erin's House will be recognized as the key provider of grief support, resources, and training in the region.
Strategic Priorities
a) Erin's House will strengthen relationships with current and potential referral sources to ensure that they understand the unique features of its program. Points of emphasis include:
Peer-to-peer support in group settings
Facilitators trained in the grieving process of children and youth
Focus on building lifelong coping skills
Availability of supplemental services (e.g., Camp Good Grief)
Availability of services at no cost to families
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The primary strategy driver defines the basis on which program and resource decisions are made and new opportunities are assessed. The three main strategy drivers for a nonprofit organization are:
Client-Driven, whereby decisions are driven by the unique needs of the target population.
Service-Driven, whereby decisions are driven by the opportunity to extend content expertise or specialized knowledge into new areas or to new populations.
Market-Driven, whereby decisions are driven by changing needs or priorities within the organization's defined domain.
Erin's House will follow a service-driven strategy, determining that its growth will be driven by the delivery of its core services to new populations, in new markets and through new methods of delivery.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Current Services:
All programs are offered at no costs to families to ensure that no child is prevented from receiving our support because of the cost. Current programs include:
Erin's House provides grief support services for children and teens who have experienced the death of a loved one. Specific programs include:
• Bi-weekly, on-site Peer Support Program Nights
• In-school Peer Support Programs: For children unable to attend on-site programs
• Crisis Response Team: Support to schools and youth-serving organizations after the death of a student, teacher, or member
• Camps and retreats: Camp Good Grief for youth ages 8 to 13; Teen Retreat for youth ages 14 to 19; Family Camp for families to work on grief together.
• Friday at 5:00: Peer support group for 19-30-year-olds at Erin's House.
• Training for adults working with children/youth: Educates first responders, social workers, teachers, and other adults how to respond to grieving children
• Family Stability Program: Family activities for families to interact with each other and other Erin's House families
• Community support and education: Telephone support, books, activity booklets to assist in the grieving process; community presentations to raise awareness of the grieving process for anyone in the community
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Grieving children, teens and their families, thru peer support groups, schools, and various community locations.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
We use this information for grants and to evaluate our service.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Erin's House for Grieving Children, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 02/08/2023
Linda Jackson
WPTA - TV
Term: 2020 - 2024
Andrew Schroeder
DuCharme McMillen & Associates
Term: 2022 - 2024
Dr. Raymond Dusman
Parkview Health
David McComb
D.O. McComb & Sons
Andrew Schroeder, CPA
DuCharme McMillen & Associates
Peter Adams
PNC Bank
Chris Gomez
24/30 Surplus
Kate Miller
STAR Bank
Marcus Heminger
Barrett McNagny
Travis Friend
Haller Colvin
Keven Linker
Hylant Group
Edmond O'Neal
NE Indiana Works
Mike Nutter
FW Tincaps
Luke Squires
1st Source Bank
Sarah Richmond
Katz Sapper Miller
Dr. Lesa Vartanian
PFW
Josey Seabolt
Katz Sapper Miller
Dr. Mark Daniel
FWCS
Justin Dunbar
Sweetwater
Natalie Eggeman
City of Fort Wayne
Nick Talarico
Do It Best
Brian Ternet
Farmers & Merchant Bank
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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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 ? Yes -
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? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
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