Rick's House of Hope

A History of Healing Youth Grief and Loss

Before 1998, the idea of a center dedicated to providing a perpetual program of care to grieving children in the Quad Cities was just that, a mere seed of an idea, a dream. It was, however, a dream founding Program Director Robyn Plocher was convinced she was meant to see come true. The dream had hold of her and refused to let go. She shared the dream of what could be with almost everyone and anyone she thought might be supportive or in a position to help make the dream become a reality.

Late in 1998, talks began between Robyn and Prairie and River Spiritual Resources, a non-profit organization founded by Rev. Rick Johnson prior to his sudden death in 1997. The vision of Prairie and River Spiritual Resources (PRSR) included the commitment to affirm and promote spiritual services to support healing and growth for a variety of institutions in the larger Quad City region, which would not be able to provide these services on their own. So it was in the mission of Prairie and River Spiritual Resources that the seed of an idea found fertile ground wherein it could be planted, take root and grow.

In January 1999, Robyn was hired by Prairie and River Spiritual Resources to develop and direct the program for a pediatric grief recovery center. It was decided that the Center would be named in memory and honor of Rick Johnson, thus came to be the name Rick's House of Hope (RHOH). In February, Genesis Medical Center adopted Prairie and River Spiritual Resources, which became a Division of the Genesis Spiritual Care Department.

The Demand for Child Trauma Services Expands

In those early days, RHOH shared a two-bedroom house with the Clinical Pastoral Education Program. It was only a matter of months, however, before a larger space was needed to accommodate the number of children already seeking help at RHOH. So, the CPE students moved next door and we experienced the first of many expansions.

Founding Program Director Robyn Plocher learned of the Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children early in 1999. With the financial and moral support of the Medical Center, she attended two intensive sessions of TLC's certification program in Detroit, Michigan. With no formal announcement that trauma intervention services were now available, Rick's House of Hope began receiving one to three referrals a week for children in need of trauma-specific counseling. This great demand for trauma counseling persisted over many months.

Meanwhile, a grief support group was becoming firmly established. There were trials and errors in those early days, certainly. There were volunteers who came for a bit, then left. There were false starts and sputters. There was a move to a different house. Yet all the time there was growth and learning that has helped to make the program as strong as it is today.

Rick's House of Hope Recognized for Commitment to Children

In 2000, the demand for trauma intervention services finally became so great that individual counseling had to become the exception rather than the rule. Over the next several months, group intervention curriculum was purchased and the groups "I Feel Better Now" and "What Color is Your Hurt" were offered for the first time--with great success! New curriculum for developmentally disabled students and Family Workshops for Handling the Holidays were written and implemented by Robyn Plocher. The Thursday night Grief Support Group, now known as Rainbow Club, continues to be one of the Center's most demanded and successful programs. A Divorce Support group has also been added to the program.

In 2001 Rick’s House of Hope was recognized as the Trauma and Loss Agency of the year by the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in children .  This honor was given in part because of our role in providing Brave Bart storybooks to children directly impacted by the events of September 11.  The tradition of reaching out to help others whose lives have been touchd by trauma and loss began in our first year in response to the shootings at Columbine Highschool and continues to this day.

Plocher, who founded the program serving grieving and traumatized children in 1999, left the Quad Cities community to pursue other goals in May 2007.   Denise Tatoian is the new Program Director.  Denise has been in education for 25 years and is the former principal at Sacred Heart and All Saints school in Davenport.

Rick’s House of Hope has become the regional center for grieving and traumatized  youth, offering a wide spectrum of services.  The Summer Arts program held each June; Camp Good Grief for bereaved youth held in July and our annual fall kick-off , a giant banana split party, are just a few examples of our special program offerings.

Our center at 4867 Forest Grove Dr. in Bettendorf provides a retreat-like setting where youth of all ages find hope to face the future unafraid.  We are honored to sow seeds of hope in the lives of the children we serve and encourage them to spread that same hope in their family, community and world.

For more information, call Rick's House of Hope at (563) 324-9580 or Genesis Medical Center's Spiritual Care Department at (563) 421-7970.