No. The Sibling Space events are peer gatherings, not clinical programs. It's closer to a structured hang than a support group. Think activities, conversations, and food rather than sitting in a circle talking about your feelings (though some of that might happen too). If you are looking for mental health support specifically, we're happy to point you toward other resources.

The Sibling Space is part of 18 Hands, a Denver-area nonprofit organization that supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Rachel Holzwart, a certified Sibshop facilitator and adult sibling, leads our events. Rachel is not a therapist, and The Sibling Space is not a clinical program.

Parents may drop off and pick up, but the event is for teens only. We find that participants open up more and connect better when it's their own space. That said, we welcome parents to email us with any questions and to talk with their teens before and after the event. You can have some great conversations about the ideas and topics that come up during a Sibling Space event! Of course, we welcome parents' involvement in helping us raise money and awareness for our sibling program.

For our initial events in 2026, we are primarily reaching out to families connected to 18 Hands in some way. But, we welcome teens whose siblings are not currently 18 Hands members too! Spots will be open on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have questions and aren't sure if you qualify, just reach out. We'd rather talk through than have someone miss out.

If able, we encourage a $10 donation per participant at event registration to help cover food and materials. If that's not possible right now, we still hope you will attend.

Please let us know as soon as possible if registered but can no longer attend - we plan food and materials based on headcount and want to make sure nothing goes to waste!

The location for our first event is the City of Centennial building located at 7272 S Eagle Street. We will be using their Community Room space and there is ample parking on site.

Please let us know if you have any specific accessibility needs so we can ensure your comfort as you navigate the space.

Each event runs about 3-4 hours. It's a solid chunk of time, but not the whole day. Exact start and end times are listed on the registration page.

That's pretty normal, and we design the events with this in mind. Activities are structured so nobody has to perform or share before they are ready. If your teen wants to do the art project and eat but isn't interested in talking much, that's a valid way to participate.

We're focused on high school-aged teens (roughly 14-17) to keep the group developmentally appropriate. However, we recognize that high schoolers may fall outside this range and will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Reach out and tell us about your teen. In the future, we hope to add programming for other age groups.

That's the plan! We're treating 2026 as a pilot year to determine what works. If there's interest and energy (which we expect there will be!) we'll grow the program from there. Participants from 2026 will help shape what comes next.

Glad you asked! Email Rachel, our Sibling Program Lead, at Rachel.Holzwart@18hands.org. Whether you're a parent with questions or a teen who wants to know what to expect, we're happy to talk it through.