SIBSPlace celebrates the holiday season

SIBSPlace, on Merrick Road in Rockville Centre, recently hosted a holiday party for children and families in its program, which is dedicated to helping people cope with severe illness.

“This is one of our traditions,” Joanna Formont, the facility’s executive director, said. “I think when there’s a family member with cancer or a devastating illness in the house, it’s important to take a minute, come together, and celebrate the good things that are happening in your life.”

Survivorship in Brothers and Sisters is a free program facilitated by Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside. It was originally headquarted in Hewlett for 22 years before moving to its new location in Rockville Centre in November 2021.

The SIBSPlace program serves more than 300 children between ages 5 and 18 with a sibling or parent who has been diagnosed with a severe illness, by providing them with opportunities to interact with others going through similar experiences, to express their feelings and to have them validated through verbal, artistic, and musical activities.

“You’re dealing with such hardship at an early age, and those are your formative years — that’s when your brain is developing relationships,” Lowell Frey, president of the SIBSPlace board of directors, said. “What we do here is teach them the skills to grow as normal kids, and they take that with them.” 

SIBSPlace also offers parent support groups to help families bond, discuss medical concerns and develop coping skills to encourage resilience and foster empowerment.

Formont said that last year, because of the pandemic, the organization couldn’t hold its annual event in the traditional sense, and instead held a drive-through event so that kids could still enjoy the holidays.

“When there’s a pandemic, you’re more at risk, maybe, than the average person, so our families did isolate more,” Formont said. “So when you can have everyone come together, and they know, because you’re a part of a hospital, you’re following protocols and guidelines, that they feel safe, and I think building that sense of community and what helps them get through a tough time.”

This year, everyone in the program was able to come together to celebrate the holidays in a safe environment.

Melissa Soliz joined SIBSPlace in 2006, when she was 8 and her sister had gotten sick. She is now 24, and is attending Hof-stra University, studying for a master’s in marriage and family therapy.

“I wouldn’t know what I’d be doing if I didn’t come here,” Soliz said. “They’re literally my second family. Everyone is still connected in one way or another, and it’s because of the bond that we gained here.”

She said that because of her relationship with SIBSPlace growing up, she wants to help give back to the program, which helped her at a critical time in her life. “They’re your escape when you’re having a hard time at home,” Soliz said. “They make you feel valued when your loved one is taking a lot of the attention that you kind of needed, and they make you feel important.”

People of all ages and backgrounds came together last Friday for a fun-filled evening of holiday activities. Children and families joined in singing classic holiday songs and designing crafts, and enjoyed a visit from Santa Claus, courtesy of the members of the Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department. 

This year, more than 100 SIBSPlace participants received more than 400 presents. Thanks to the efforts of Adopt-a-SIBS supporters, board members, volunteers and new donors, each of the families received gift-wrapped presents, and afterward, to-go bags with holiday meals, courtesy of the Pantry Diner.

SIBSPlace staff members also gave special thanks to the Friedberg JCC Merrick/Bellmore, G.W. Hewlett High School, the Kuei Luck Early Childhood Center, Pure Barre Oceanside, Ross Dress for Less Stores, the Seawane Country Club, Steven’s Karate Academy, and Temple Beth Israel for their support.

For additional information on the program, go to SIBSPlace.org or call (516) 374-3000.