Page 15 - Chester County Chamber - 2023 Guide & Membership Directory

Advocacy, Connections & Community | chescochamber.org
“Our model is peer-to-peer support. We really believe that grief is normal and want to surround families with others that are walking through something similar. It just helps with feeling less alone.”
“All our services are at no cost for families, so that’s huge I think,” Noble said. “Our model is peer-to-peer support. We really believe that grief is normal and want to surround families with others that are walking through something similar. It just helps with feeling less alone.”
On-site in Exton, A Haven provides a variety of different support groups, including one specifically tailored to children who have lost a parent, another for children who have lost any kind
of important person — ranging from teachers to friends or close relatives — and another tailored to teens who have lost someone to suicide or drug abuse. Twice a month, A Haven also hosts a teen night where teens socialize over games and pizza and do important grief work in a community of their peers.
In addition to those on-site services, A Haven partners with local schools to provide grief groups there upon request.
A Haven is heavily reliant on volunteers to keep its operations going. One way volunteers can help is by attending groups and building relationships with kids. “We do a very extensive full-day training for our volunteers on child development and grief,” Noble said. “It’s really a type of mentorship — holding space for those kids to talk about what’s going on.” Another way to help is with administrative tasks, or by serving on the nonprofit’s board and committees.
If you don’t have extra time to give, A Haven is always grateful for donations to fund its free community services. Learn more at www.ahaven.org.
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE (CVIM)
CVIM has been serving the Chester County community for 25 years. In that time, the nonprofit — which provides free medical and dental care to those who need it — has made a difference in the lives of thousands of people.
In fiscal year 2022 alone, CVIM served 4,263 patients — 1,467 of them new patients. The nonprofit also filled 30,556 prescriptions, dispensing $3.9 million worth of free medications.
Originally founded in 1998 to alleviate
the burden of hospital emergency room visits by uninsured individuals facing non- emergent health issues, CVIM welcomes low-income clients who don’t earn enough to purchase insurance but earn too much to qualify for government assistance.
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