The brothers and sisters of the children we care for need support to express their feelings. We provide a regular support group called Buddies and it’s great fun. They are often dealing with feelings of shock, guilt, anger and despair when confronted with the illness or loss of their brother or sister. Haven House is here for them during a very difficult time.

We host our support group in various settings including our Buddies hut in our grounds, day trips to Epping forest, visiting firestations, drama and circus workshops, or just hanging out with our professional team making pizza and watching movies. This gives the children time to talk to others who are in a similar situation and gives them a chance to enjoy activities, forget their worries for a short period of time and have fun together.

Buddies has given me so many opportunities to meet and socialise with people who have gone through the same experiences as me, and has helped me cope with many of my problems and fears.

The buddies recently visited the Amy Winehouse Foundation. They were invited to spend a day at Amy's Yard studio in Islington. They worked with our music therapists, Maeve and Aimee to write and record a song.

 Buddies helps me so much because I realise that there are other children who understand how I feel every day.

To find out more about our Buddies support group and how we work with siblings, visit this page.