Sibteens

Opening Hearts has been running Sibshops for a few years now, but then we realized we had a problem. Many of the sibs who were too old for Sibshops still wanted to continue getting together and sharing. Opening Hearts decided to introduce Sibteens to our community.
This program allows teenage (13-17) brothers and sisters of children with special needs to connect with their peers. For some, they are meeting for the first time. For others, they are building on friendships built from our other programs. Either way, Sibteens helps to form and strengthen friendships that can provide a lifetime of support.
There are a handful of Sibteen programs in Canada, but none in the Hamilton and surrounding area. Sibteen sessions are less structured than Sibshops, but they will all have a core theme and/or activity, accompanied with the opportunity for the teens to connect and share.
We held our pilot Sibteen session in May 2017. We started with a visit to an escape room. We didn’t escape, but the teens had a great time working together on a common mission. We then closed the evening with a visit to a nearby pizzeria and with time to hang out, connect and have fun.
2019-2020 Sibteen Schedule
We will be posting our complete schedule for the 2019-2020 season very soon.
Our next session will be held:
Friday, November 1, 2019
6:30pm- 9:00pm
Hamilton Go-karts
Go-karting and Pizza
Please register and we will keep you up-to-date when our schedule is posted and on everything about out Sibteens.

He came home after a Sibteen session and went right up to his older brother with special needs. He gave him a hug and said "I will look after you forever."