Spending the holidays in treatment at Rogers

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“Because of you, I was able to have a wonderful Christmas!” ~ Patient in a residential program at Rogers

With locations across the country, Rogers treats hundreds of children and teens over the holiday season. This can be a difficult time, especially for those who are with us for residential or inpatient care and as a result, are away from family.

“Due to the stigma of mental illness, patients and families may feel an overwhelming sense of shame and isolation when seeking treatment for their condition,” says Matthias Schueth, executive vice president, Rogers Memorial Hospital Foundation. “The holidays can be an especially trying time for our young patients.”

To help bring joy to kids and their parents, every year the Rogers Hospital Foundation works to collect gifts from businesses and generous donors. Because of them, more than 468 children and teens received gifts last year.

“All of us were taken away with the gifts that we got. It was the highlight of my whole day. Thank you so much for your donation. It made my Christmas so amazing and it won’t be one that I will forget,” ~ Patient at the Nashotah program.

Our care team sees the impact that these gifts have on kids first-hand and will even take the opportunity to discuss the experience later in therapy.

“Giving and receiving gifts opens up the conversation to discuss how we feel about emotions like gratitude and giving without expectation,” says a member of Rogers’ treatment team. “I find that through my years of working with mental health patients, they don’t always feel like they deserve to receive gifts. Some children have not experienced receiving a gift without expectations. Thankfully, there are caring people that are able to show love without expectation.”

The Rogers Hospital Foundation collects gifts throughout the year through initiatives and events like the Give for a Better Day holiday drives. These community-run fundraisers collect approved gifts from the Foundation’s wish list, such as colored pencils, Rubik’s cubes, stuffed animals, small Lego kits, and gift cards to approved stores.

“One of our patients was talking about how much he hated the holidays because last year was the first year he had ever received a gift, and he wasn’t expecting one this year,” says another member of Rogers’ treatment team. “I know so many of our patients have similar experiences as that, so the Angel Fund providing gifts to our patients is a huge deal to them.”

To learn more about the Give for a Better Day holiday drive and how to participate, see the Rogers Hospital Foundation’s article on how to plan an event.