Santa brings Christmas cheer to coping families at SIBSPlace

The magic of Christmas filled the air last Friday night during the annual holiday party at SIBSPlace in Rockville Centre. The event brought families navigating severe illness and loss together for a heartwarming celebration featuring food, music, crafts and a surprise visit from Santa.

“It’s a chance for them to come together and celebrate the holidays,” said SIBSPlace Executive Director Joanna Formont, who has worked with the organization for 19 years. “Our goal is (to provide) preventative mental health care when there are illnesses or loss in the home, and where the children can come together to get peer support from children in similar circumstances.”

SIBS, or Survivorship in Brothers and Sisters, is a free program facilitated by Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside. It was headquartered in Hewlett for 22 years before moving to Merrick Road, in Rockville Centre, in November 2021.

Formont said that the inspiration for SIBSPlace was a handful of students at Hewlett High School who were diagnosed with cancer about 35 years ago. “The community pitched in to help, and what they realized was that the siblings weren’t getting any services whatsoever,” she said, referring to the patients’ family members. “The siblings were not getting their emotions met.”

The program serves more than 300 children between ages 5 and 18 with a sibling or parent who has been diagnosed with a severe illness, providing them with opportunities to interact and express their feelings with peers who are going through similar experiences.

SIBSPlace has programs every night of the week, including bereavement services for children who have experienced loss in their family due to illness or tragedy. It also offers parent support groups to help families bond, discuss medical concerns, and develop coping skills.

Many former program participants show their support during the holidays. One of them, Brian Persaud, 20, said that he got involved in the program when he was 13 and a family member was diagnosed with leukemia.

“My mother signed me up for this program,” Persaud recalled. “I wasn’t sure about it at first, but after having been here, it has taught me so much and has provided me with so many ways to deal with and cope with situations.”

Persaud comes to the holiday party every year, and volunteers when he can. “It’s helped me be more social and converse openly,” he said. “I still keep in touch with people that I met here … SIBS was a blessing.”

The holiday decorations included crafts made by the children in the program. The festivities began with a performance of “Willy Wonka,” which was adapted to give SIBSPlace kids a chance to show off their talent.

“Often this is holiday concert time, but sometimes when there’s someone ill in the house, they aren’t able to attend, so we put on a little show to give another opportunity to present what they’ve worked on,” Formont said of the children.

One of the performers was 9-year-old Brendan Sherman, who played the holiday hit “Last Christmas,” by Wham!, on a recorder while a friend accompanied him on trumpet.

Brendan said he started attending the program with his brother in October 2022. “It’s great because we do art, games and field trips,” he said. “We went to Adventureland and did rock wall climbing.”

Rockville Centre Mayor Francis Murray and Deputy Mayor Kathy Baxley were among the celebration attendees. “It’s a fantastic organization, and it helps families in their time of need,” Murray said. “I had a niece who had passed away from neuroblastoma. We wish when she was alive that there was a place like this for her brother and her family.”

The evening was not complete until Santa and his elves arrived, courtesy of the Rockville Centre Fire Department. Children received presents donated by the Adopt-a-SIBS campaign, which helped make sure that their holiday wishes were fulfilled.

“We’re very blessed to have the community support us in that way, and have all the different toy drives,” Formont said.

This year, more than 150 SIBSPlace participants received more than 400 presents. Thanks to the efforts of Adopt-a-SIBS supporters, board members, volunteers and new donors, each family also received a bundle of additional gifts, including a Stop & Shop gift card to help with groceries this holiday season.

“The biggest part of it is that you’re encouraging families to come together and just take a break from what their everyday stresses are,” Formont said. “When you’re in the daily grind of coping with someone who is ill, it’s difficult to take that moment to find those pockets of joy. You’re encouraging them to come together and embrace today.”