Tu Nidito, meaning “your little nest” in Spanish, is a non-profit agency in Tucson, Arizona that provides support for children affected by serious medical conditions and death.
[1] The organization was conceived through a community focus group of medical professionals, bereaved parents, and other citizens of Tucson, Arizona.
[2] Originally, the organization was a hospice care agency for dying children, licensed by the state of Arizona in 1996[3] (Limberis, 2000) and accepting its first client that same year.
In total, Arizona Department of Health Services found Tu Nidito Children's Hospice out of compliance with state regulations in nine instances after an inspection in the fall of 1999.
[2] and focused on expanding the non-medical support they had begun offering in 1997 to terminally ill children and their families.
[4] Two weeks after Tu Nidito lost its license to operate its hospice services, Liz McCusker filed a defamation suit for $1 million in damages along with a restraining order to prevent this nurse from saying anything about McCusker's work as director at Tu Nidito.
[2] He and his mother Teri Busey, who worked with Candlelighters of Tucson after her son's death in 1993, referred to a small, safe space they created on the couch with pillows, blankets and toys as his “little nest.
"[5] Tu Nidito's mission is to provide emotional, social, spiritual, and educational support to children and families coping with serious illness and death.
The developmental stage of the child affects their understanding of death and grief, making it essential for support programs to focus on the needs of the specific age groups.
[11] Support for children as they deal with serious medical conditions is important because although they may not understand the severity of the diagnosis or prognosis, they can perceive what is happening.
In addition to their services for families struggling with the death or illness of a child or parent, Tu Nidito recognizes remarkable moms from the Tucson community.
Each year, the public is able to nominate mothers who have done outstanding work to support the needs of families affected by serious illness or death.
[13] In early 2014, El Tour de Tucson announced that Tu Nidito would no longer be the primary charity of the race, saying the race organizers felt they had helped establish Tu Nidito as a solid non-profit and wanted to work with another organization, which they had not selected at the time of the announcement.
Subsequently, Tu Nidito voiced concern over being able to raise adequate funds though they stated there were “no hard feelings” about the race organizers' decision.