Mini-Retreat at the Heartquarters

An intimate, healing weekend for families who have lost their young child to disease.

At Rett’s Roost, we show people ways to experience joy & gratitude amidst tragedy. While we cannot hope to relieve the emotional burden of your grief in just a few days, our goal is to shift your course towards healing and experiencing joy even if you cannot see how that might be possible. We hope you leave feeling less alone in this lonely, terrifying world of child loss, with tools in your back pocket and friends to call on for when you enter those dark spaces of suffering.

This retreat, for 3-4 families, runs from Thursday afternoon through Sunday morning so it provides two full days of therapeutic support and connecting with others. By staggering with Labor Day weekend, we hope families can avoid major traffic jams. Besides allowing plenty of time to relax, we offer supportive, mindful activities to connect with others and to heal within. Our children’s activities are thoughtful and creative, safe and supportive, and hopefully help them validate their emotions by meeting other bereaved siblings.

Each family will have their own bedroom. Bathrooms may be shared (please request a private bathroom if needed). There is a shared hot tub available on-site. Rett’s Roost staff will be providing delicious, healthy meals. We’ll be offering peer support, yoga, art, and music/sound therapy. Also, get a massage, energy treatment, and have professional portraits taken. The beach, trails, and vibrant town of Ogunquit is just a mile away. Limited travel scholarships are available by request.

Does my family qualify?  For this retreat, we will accept 4 families that have lost a child to cancer or other chronic pediatric illnesses. There is no restriction on the amount of time since your child’s death. You must reside within the six New England states, or NY or NJ. Our retreats are best suited for children between the ages of 4-15, however, we do welcome families with older and younger children. Unfortunately, we cannot accept parents that lost their only child or only have surviving children older than 18 at this retreat.

DEI:  Rett’s Roost retreats are nondenominational. We act, and ask our participants to act, without discriminating against any person or organization because of their race, age, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or religious belief.

COVID-19: Currently we are requiring all parents and other adults (volunteers, therapists) participating in this retreat to be vaccinated for COVID (at least 2 shots). We will be asking each attendee over 3 years old to take a rapid antigen test on arrival and a PCR test before the event if there has been a potential exposure.

Photos from last year’s retreat at the Heart-quarters: OGT – Sep ’22 – Bereaved

General info about our retreats

Get in touch for more details or sign up to volunteer for this retreat!