Jersey Shore Spring 2026 Retreat
A Five-Day Retreat in Community
Hiraeth Hope & Healing, Inc. will convene in Surf City, New Jersey from April 16–20, 2026 for an intimate five-day, four-night gathering held with a trauma-aware approach. This offering is intended for individuals impacted by family separation, origin loss, or hidden truths and is held with attention to care, presence, and shared space within community.
Since 2019, each experience has been shaped by the people who come together, allowing space for reflection, connection, and shared learning.
For those staying off-site, nearby lodging options are within easy walking distance of the primary location.
Approximately 70 miles from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and 86 miles from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Facilitators
Judith Belton • Peter Boni • Amy Ebbeson • Victoria Hill • B.K. Jackson • Hope Sacher
*Facilitators/Sessions subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances*
Seeking Financial Support?
Apply for Financial Assistance
Interested in Facilitating?
Information about facilitating and proposal submission is available here.
NEW Construction (2025)
"Mom" table
Sauna
Upper Level Living Room
Pool & Cabana
Game Room
Elevator!!!
Fire Pit
Fitness Room
1 of MANY decks
Meet Your Facilitators
Our gatherings are supported by facilitators with lived experience and varied professional backgrounds who are familiar with the complexities of identity, family separation, and loss. Facilitators participate as guides within a peer-led, community-based setting, holding space for reflection and shared presence rather than providing clinical or therapeutic services.
Facilitators and facilitation roles are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.
Judith Belton
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Dr. Judith “Jai” Belton is an Insight Integration Strategist, author, mentor, and Trauma- and IFS-informed practitioner. She is the creator of Integris Therapeutic Art™, a visual-insight modality that supports identity exploration, emotional integration, and self-leadership.
An ally to individuals impacted by identity disruption—including adopted folks, donor-conceived people, late-discovery adoptees, and those navigating unexpected parentage—Dr. Belton supports participants through the complexities of cognitive distortions, grief, and the emotional weight of navigating layered family dynamics.
With decades of experience across grief work, trauma-aware practice, and expressive arts integration, Dr. Belton combines practical frameworks with compassionate facilitation to create spaces grounded in choice, clarity, and connection. Her work bridges psychology, creative practice, and cultural humility, supporting participants in moving from reactive patterns toward intentional, Self-led responses that honor both personal truth and relational integrity.
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Lines of Belonging: Re-drawing Connection After Disconnection
This creative session offers a reflective space to explore belonging after experiences of separation, secrecy, or disrupted origin stories.
Through guided reflection and collaborative art-making, participants are invited to consider how connection is experienced internally and relationally, and how a sense of belonging can be gently reimagined.
Participants leave with a personal visual reflection representing connection, self-understanding, and shared experience. No art experience is required, and all participation is optional.
Peter Boni
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Peter J. Boni is an author, advocate, and retired business leader living on Cape Cod whose life has been shaped by a challenging childhood, military service as a U.S. Army Special Operations Team Leader in Vietnam, and a distinguished career as a high-tech CEO, venture capitalist, board chair, and nonprofit leader. Drawing on leadership forged through adversity, he wrote All Hands on Deck, a book on guiding organizations through crisis.
At age 49, Boni discovered he was conceived via anonymous sperm donation and that the man who raised him was not his biological father. After a 22-year search for his origins, he shared his personal journey in Uprooted, using it to advocate for oversight of the fertility industry and to represent the emotional needs of people who later learn they are misattributed or donor-conceived.
Now a grandfather, Boni enjoys staying active, sailing, entertaining, and traveling with his wife to visit family.
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Misattributed: When DNA and Identity Don’t Align
What happens when your DNA tells a different story than your birth certificate? As consumer DNA testing exposes long-hidden truths, more people are discovering unexpected parentage, ancestry, and identity shifts—often with little support.
This interactive session explores identity trauma following an NPE (Not Parent Expected) discovery through personal experience, research, and group discussion. Participants will examine the emotional impact of misattribution, consider real-life case examples, and engage in collective reflection around navigating trauma, secrecy, and unanswered questions.
Healing strengthens in shared space. No one navigates this alone.
Amy Ebbeson
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Building a Personal Regulation Toolkit
This session offers a supportive space to reflect on what fosters calm, balance, and emotional steadiness.
Through guided reflection and shared discussion, participants are invited to consider personal supports and practices that align with their individual needs and lived experience.
All participation is optional, with an emphasis on choice, self-awareness, and personal insight.
Victoria Hill
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Victoria Hill, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in Connecticut. She co-owns a local wellness center and works part-time at Hartford Hospital.
Following her own NPE/DCP discovery in 2020, Victoria has spent the past several years connecting with others in the community and advocating for greater awareness and protections related to donor-conceived people and fertility fraud.
This is her second year facilitating a workshop at the New Jersey Hiraeth Hope & Healing retreat.
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Reclaiming Identity, Connection, and Inner Safety
This creative session offers a supportive space to explore identity, belonging, and self-connection.
Through gentle reflection, movement, and creative expression, participants are invited to engage at their own pace, with an emphasis on choice, regulation, and shared understanding.
No prior art experience is required. All participation is optional.
B.K. Jackson
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B.K. (Kate) Jackson is a writer, editor, and book coach working in Northeastern Pennsylvania helping writers develop, polish, and pitch their books. She offers manuscript evaluations, developmental editing of nonfiction books, and help for crafting queries and book proposals. She’s written for publications such as The Los Angeles Times, WIRED, HuffPost, Sun Magazine, Everyday Health, and Today’s Dietitian; created content for websites and professional associations; written a medical trade book for a major educational publisher; and published personal essays in literary journals and websites. She’s the founder and editor of Severance, an online magazine and community that joins together, supports, and provides resources for adoptees, NPEs, and donor conceived people. She has a BA from UCLA and earned a master of arts in critical studies at UCLA’s School of Film and Television.
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When the Page isn’t Blank
Facing a blank page (or screen) can be intimidating for all writers, and it can be especially uncomfortable for those with no writing experience who want to express themselves in words. Learn how to use blackout poetry—also called erasure poetry—to sidestep the fear and unease of writing from scratch. You don’t have to be a writer, and certainly not a poet, to use blackout/erasure techniques. You’ll experiment with the form as a means to self-expression … and also just for fun.
Hope Sacher
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Hope Sacher, is a Registered Nurse, Certified Yogi and Kripalu certified Mindful Outdoor Guide. As a Holistic & Integrative nurse, Hope integrates the mind, body and soul, to achieve elevated health and wellness for her clients. She sees clients individually and offers group coaching workshops (both remotely and in person in her NC office.) Her approach to health and wellbeing is rooted in our connection to nature.
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The Path That Holds Us: A Beach Labyrinth Experience
This shared, experiential gathering by the sea invites participants into connection, presence, and collective grounding. Held on the beach, the experience centers on walking together with intention, guided by the steady earth beneath us and the rhythmic movement of the ocean.
Rather than fixing or performing, we gather to experience what it feels like to be supported by nature and community. Through embodied participation and shared presence, connection unfolds naturally, honoring individual pacing, choice, and agency within a safe, trauma-aware container.
Whether you arrive seeking regulation, connection, or restoration, you will be met with care at the shoreline, where nature and community come together to support balance, steadiness, and renewal.
What to Expect
A Supported Community Space
This gathering is held as a peer-led, community-based experience grounded in care, flexibility, and respect for individual pacing.
Support and Care
We recognize that preparing for this gathering may bring up strong or unexpected emotions. Individuals are encouraged to attend to their own needs and draw on personal supports as they prepare to arrive. Participation is always at your own pace, and care for yourself remains central throughout the experience.
Facilitated Reflection and Connection
Shared experiences may explore identity, loss, and reconnection, alongside time for rest and personal reflection.
Room for Rest, Play, and Presence
Time is intentionally balanced between group connection, quiet moments, and optional evening gatherings, with space for rest and informal connection.
Choice at Every Step
Participation is always optional. There is no expectation to attend everything or engage in any particular way.
Saturday Shenanigans
Saturday Shenanigans is a standalone Saturday evening gathering for individuals who are unable to attend the full retreat but would like to join for an evening in community.
The evening includes shared time together, a communal dinner, and an optional group activity that is part of a long-standing community tradition.
Saturday Shenanigans takes place on Saturday, April 18 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Registration Details
Retreat Registration Fee
$499 per attendee
All participants must register individually. If you plan to share a bed with another attendee, each person is required to pay the retreat registration fee. Lodging costs, if applicable, are calculated separately.
Optional Fees
Registration Protection Fee: $49 per attendee
On-site lodging: Pricing varies
Saturday Shenanigans: $49 per attendee, dinner included
Optional wellness offerings may be available on Sunday for those who choose to engage in additional self-care before departure. Details are shared with registered participants.
Financial Support and Discounts
Scholarships are available. Additional information and application details are available here.
A 10% discount is available for active duty and retired military personnel. To receive this discount, please email proof of service prior to registering. This discount cannot be combined with other offers.
Payment Options
Klarna is available as a flexible payment option, allowing payments to be split into interest-free installments every two weeks.
Important Policies
Registration and on-site lodging fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Please review all details carefully before registering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about accommodations, transportation, accessibility, or what to bring? Please visit our FAQ page for additional information.
A Gentle Daily Rhythm
Our gatherings follow a daily rhythm that balances facilitated group experiences, shared meals, creative integration, and rest. Across the five days, the gathering includes approximately thirteen facilitated sessions, intentionally spaced to support integration and personal pacing.
Mornings often begin slowly, with time to settle and orient, while afternoons allow space for reflection, creative expression, or rest. Evenings typically include shared meals and relaxed community gatherings.
Participation in all activities is optional. Individuals are welcome to rest, step back, or engage according to personal needs and pacing. A detailed daily flow will be shared with registered participants prior to arrival.
Retreat Meals
Shared meals are an integral part of the gathering and are prepared with care. Meals are provided throughout the retreat and are designed to be balanced and satisfying.
We are mindful of dietary needs and do our best to accommodate common restrictions, including vegetarian and gluten-free options. Additional details about meals and dietary accommodations will be shared with registered participants.
Registration and Lodging
Participation is limited to 30 individuals to maintain a manageable group size.
All participants must register individually. Registration is non-refundable and non-transferable. Attendance is limited to adults.
On-site lodging options are available at an additional cost, with room details and pricing shown below. Participants may also choose to arrange their own off-site accommodations.
Additional lodging and registration terms are reviewed during the registration process.
A Few Things to Know
Lodging availability is subject to change.
Early access to registration may be available to members of our Sustainable Giving Campaign. Details are shared directly with eligible supporters.
Participants of all genders are welcome. Sleeping arrangements are coordinated with attention to individual comfort and group needs. Final room configurations may adjust as needed to maintain a respectful and inclusive environment.
Registration Protection is available as an optional add-on during registration. This option offers added flexibility should plans change. Full details are provided during the registration process.
With Appreciation
We acknowledge the support of our sponsor:
For inquiries related to this gathering, contact info@hiraethhopeandhealing.com.
Hiraeth Hope & Healing, Inc. is not a licensed therapy provider, and this gathering is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or mental health care. Our events are peer-led and community-based and are not clinical treatment programs.
Some sessions are facilitated by licensed, trauma-informed therapists and experienced facilitators who guide group experiences within a community setting rather than providing individualized therapy. Participants are encouraged to seek additional professional or therapeutic support as needed.