What We Do

Inner Harbor meets the needs of grieving high school and college students through a diverse and inclusive approach that includes training, consulting and direct support.

“I wholeheartedly recommend working with Mandi and Inner Harbor. She worked with our leadership in advance of the training to gain a clear and 360 degree picture of the needs of our students, and provided our Hillel staff with a comprehensive training about how to support students who are grieving.  Mandi held space for each of us to examine our own beliefs and feelings about grief in the midst of the COVID pandemic in NYC, while also providing much needed educational context. Our experience as a team was one of deep empathy, compassion, and useful tactics to effect change in our community. We left the training feeling heard, and with a new toolkit to address the needs of our students. It was compassionate, supportive and educational. Mandi was professional and very comfortable presenting, and pivoted beautifully from an in-person workshop planned for months to a zoom program. Even across the screen, she was able to communicate her passion and expertise.  We all are better able to support our community because of this training.”

Merav Fine Braun, Executive Director, Hunter College Hillel

Provide Education + Trainings

Inner Harbor works with high schools, colleges and universities to train students and staff looking to better support their grieving peers. These trained supporters can include resident assistants, religious organizations, sororities and fraternities, academic advisors, peer leaders, coaches and more. Workshops can range from 1.5 hours to full days and will focus on teaching participants how their own grief impacts the way they support others, as well as specific skills to provide non-clinical, therapeutic support.

Facilitate Grief Retreats

Peer support is critical when coping with a loss. Inner Harbor facilitates retreats for college students after they experience a significant death or loss. Retreats will allow students to make supportive connections with others on campus, learn about available resources and practice healthy coping tools when dealing with intense grief reactions.

Consultation

Are you looking to start a bereavement program? Do you have, or need to create, policies about bereavement leave or memorials on campus? Do you need training for staff or volunteers? Are you envisioning a program but need help figuring out how to make it happen? Talk to us about your bereavement needs and see how we can partner to help you offer the best support.

“I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful presentation.  It’s clear how passionate you are about normalizing conversations and feelings about grief and loss.  You modeled wonderful openness – openness that set the tone for our conversation throughout.  I hope it’s something we’ll all keep working at, breaking down our own resistance, and inviting our clients to share their experiences.”

Lisa M. Stutz, LCSW, DOROT