A Covid-19 Limerick

                                    By Greta J. 3/19/2020

Our leaders called it CoVid-19.

They said it was so very mean.

"Go home. Stay inside.

"Stay away but don't hide."

"We need you to keep

  everything clean."

Contact us with your verse so we can add it below:

We heard that this virus is mean 

But so is the common green bean, 

And so is green tea.

Researchers are we.

Herbs might help us solve this bad scene.

                                     By Meg C 3/31/2020

Together we can form an army.

Six feet you can stand beside me.

We have the heart.

This won't tear us apart.

It's time to make our community a family.

By Jessica & Sophie 4/6/2020



Now Covid is its 3rd year.

Some of us continue to fear.

Some yell, "It's a fake."

A vaccine's there to take.

But the trauma it caused is so clear.

By William 3/8/2022

Copyright: 2023, Deerwood Family Services

     Wild Pony Project

Some of the children and families working with our providers are raising funds to foster one of the wild ponies on Assateague Island. We have groups of children who have learned and applied science, math, social studies, reading, writing, and decision-making skills in their involvement with this project.  A few of our children have even discovered their own interest in starting a business to raise the funds needed to foster. They have actually raised some of their own pony-fostering funds through these kid-sized businesses. If you would like to help them with a donation that we can use to help them with this project, please let us know. 

March 31, 2020 Update

The children have voted and the Assateague Island pony who received the most votes for our fostering is Josey Rue, a foal who was described by various children as looking "the most playful," "the most energetic,"the most likely to grow up to become a leader," "more social than the others," and "the pony who probably would never bully the others." Other ponies who received a number of votes were Charcoal (1st runner up), Sweet Tea, Happy, and BJ. We hope that we will be able to foster them, as well. 

March, 2022 Update

Some of the children involved in fostering Josey Rue worked in a group of cyberschool students this academic year to develop a story that uses the pony they fostered, Josey Rue as one of the main characters. The story is an amazing narrative and one that will help young readers learn and understand the importance of some executive functioning skills that every child needs to know and develop so that they can live their best life. 

We are looking for a publisher for this delightful children's story so that it can be shared. The school has been notified and, hopefully, will be involved in the decision of how to move forward in sharing their story

Social Epidemiology

At Deerwood Family Services, we are concerned about how all of the social changes taking place right now are impacting, not only the physical health, but also the psychological health, the social health, and the cultural health of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. 

We are doing everything possible to respond in a timely way to requests for virtual counseling, coaching, and consultation requests for help. We prefer to communicate in a synchronous manner via phone so please call us at 724 733-2928 or 724 733-3701 if you are trying to reach us by email and we do not respond.

Emerging From the Pandemic

Now that the pandemic is winding down and the emergency declaration is said to be nearing its end, we are working hard at Deerwood Family Services to assess the needs of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. This is the first step in developing new post-pandemic programs and services that will help everyone move from the stage of crisis and trauma we were plunged into in 2020 to that amazing state of post-traumatic growth that can occur when traumatized people process traumatic things that have happened to them and emerge from the tunnel of trauma.

Stay Tuned for More!