Family Support Services

There is nothing worse than a child with a life-threatening illness. There is nothing worse than a family that has to witness the day-to-day suffering of their precious child. To keep families strong during this difficult time, we provide the following services.

• Direct financial assistance to help families cover basic living expenses such as rent, mortgage payments, and utilities that have become unmanageable after their child’s diagnosis when a parent must stop working to care for a sick child.
• Coverage of illness-related expenses, including medical co-pays and the cost of wheelchairs, other equipment and those associated with frequent (often daily) travel to and from the hospital; and the cost of meals while visiting a hospitalized child.
• Help covering the cost of childcare for siblings when parents must travel (often daily) to a doctor’s office or make daily visits to stay with their hospitalized child.
• Advocacy on behalf of children and families before government and private agencies.  Our social workers often spend days representing families at social service agencies, and accessing resources from related organizations to augment those provided by our Friends of Karen.
• Assistance with funeral arrangements and expenses.
• Bereavement support to surviving parents and siblings, including: monthly support groups; an annual candle lighting ceremony; and a memorial quilt project that helps parents honor children who have died.
• Year-round "Gifts-In-Kind" to bring meaningful birthday presents, holiday gifts and school supplies to the children and their siblings.
• Supermarket gift cards for families whose resources are stretched by illness-related expenses.
• Sibling Support Program to help young siblings cope with their brother’s or sister’s illness.