It’s a handcrafted, indoor treehouse adorned with tiny lights, spreading limbs and leafy branches.
It also welcomes children for story time, games and a visit with a service dog named Dani.
The treehouse, created by special effects artist Tyler Green, photographer and graphic designer Anthony Videira and professional builders Sara and Peter Barwikowski, is located in a quiet room on the second floor of the Center for Youth and Families, an agency run by Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and Hartford Healthcare.
Children have many reasons to visit the Center for Youth and Families, but the main reason is because they are the victim of some type of abuse or trauma.
Special effects artist Tyler Green built a treehouse inside a therapy room at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital’s Center for Youth and Families.
(Contributed)
The center’s programs provide support for children from age 6 to 12, “who have experienced an acute level of behavioral and/or emotional challenges at home, school and in the community. They are often at risk of being removed from their homes or being hospitalized, and need more intensive support,” according to chh.org.
Green was approached by the center’s director, Joan Neveski, who was looking for ways to enrich the environment for visiting children and families.
“After we moved into this building (at 50 Litchfield St.), seven or eight years ago, we used this room for activities. I looked out the windows and realized this could be like a treehouse, because it overlooks the building and the street,” said Neveski. “Tyler saw that idea; it looks just like it did in my head.”
The center provides outpatient treatment, crisis assessment and intervention, and Child First, which provides family support. The center’s Child Abuse Investigation Team of NW CT works with children and families using forensic interviews and examinations in a child friendly setting.
Kevin Tieman, a 12-year veteran of the Torrington Police Department, retired in 2023. Then he was hired as the center’s Child Trauma Response Coordinator, based on his experience as a detective.
With Dani, a Portuguese water dog, by his side, Tieman conducts interviews with children who have been a victim of violence, abuse or other trauma, or have witnessed traumatic events.
Dani, who is gentle and well-trained to respond to a variety of commands and signals, is a big part of Tieman’s work.
“I got her after I retired, as a service dog, because I needed her,” the former police detective said. “She is an ADA compliant service dog, and she’s now certified as a therapy dog through the hospital’s pet therapy program.”
A treehouse has been added to the therapy and family room at the Center for Youth and Families in Torrington. The treehouse was created by special effects artist Tyler Green, graphic artist Anthony Videira, and builders Peter and Sarah Barwikowski.
(Contributed)
When Tieman and Dani met up with Green, Neveski and Videira in the treehouse room on, the 1-year-old dog immediately lay down on her cushiony bed near the tree, awaiting visitors. After a treat and some pets from Tieman, she settled in for a nap.
“She comes into the interview room with me too; when the child arrives, Dani’s already there, and it makes a difference for a lot of them,” Tieman said. “It puts them at ease; they want to pet her and play with her. It’s part of the process of interviewing these children who have been through something difficult.”
The treehouse is an extension of that comforting environment, according to Green and Vedeira.
Green’s tree was built using fire-retardant resin. The limbs of the tree spread across the ceiling, with branches and artificial oak leaves. In a hole in the upper trunk, a mechanized plush owl can read stories to his guests, who can sit on cushions or small chairs in the floor.
“Jean had the idea, and she contacted Kevin, who knew my mother, who worked at Charlotte Hungerford,” Green recalled. “Sarah and Pete Barwikowski did the understructure, and worked with the fire marshal to make sure everything was done right.”
Green is the owner of Creative Genius LLC, with a studio and classrooms in Whiting Mills in Winsted.
An inventor of consumer gadgets and accessories, he conceptualized and developed the Wonderband Systems, an intricate intelligent concept for gripping items, which is used in multiple industries. He also creates and teaches horror and sci-fi mask and model making to students at his studio, using techniques that put him on the popular Face/Off series and other challenges. Green’s accomplishments in the art world continue today.
Building a treehouse inside a playroom was a first. But Green was undeterred: it would help children, he said.
“It’s hard to think about the needs these children have … but this can help them. So we’re doing this for these kids and the families.”
Videira previously worked in a classroom for special needs children, and knew the treehouse room would be a good component to the center’s mission.
Special effects artist Tyler Green built a treehouse inside a therapy room at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital’s Center for Youth and Families. From left are graphic artist Anthony Videira, Center for Youth and Families director Joan
Neveski and Green. (Contributed)
“I taught at a special needs center, and you always want children to be comfortable, in a place that takes them away from reality for a little while,” he said, with a smile. “It’s nice for Tyler to lean into the fantasy world a little with this type of project and give us a chance to test our skills.”
Green had never built any sort of structure before, but he was up for the challenge.
“This was my first set piece, and it was really fun to do it; it was a great experience,” he said. “Anthony is a really great graphic designer, and the whole team did a wonderful job.
“The tree took time to build,” he said. “We put colored pieces over the skylights so the lighting wasn’t so bright. There are five main pieces for the tree, plus extra limbs and artificial foliage.”
Additions to the treehouse room will include more seating, he said. “We keep adding more pieces, and characters like the owl, who we named Hedwig (the name of Harry Potter’s pet owl).
“I always like a challenge,” Green said. “I asked myself, can I go beyond making monsters, and I said yes, I can do this.”
He said the project added a whole new dimension to his art business. “It opens a whole new genre for my studio,” he said. “We can build sets, we can create spaces. We can build things together.”
Once the treehouse room is completed, it will become part of the center’s mission to help traumatized children and families, said Neveski.
“We are an accredited agency since 2002 to help children, who are walking in here with the weight of the world on their shoulders,” she said. “And so, this room is for them, before and after their (forensic) interviews. It’s a safe haven for them.”
The space will also be used for trauma therapy treatment sessions, she said. “There’s less anxiety for kids in a place like this,” she said. “These are victims of sex assault, physical assault, trafficking, domestic violence. They’ve seen overdoses and deaths.”
Neveski pointed to support and collaboration with agencies in Torrington including the police department, New Opportunities, a family agency, and Brooker Memorial, an early child care and health center, as well as Barkhamsted resident John Kornegay, who creates toys using a 3-D printing, and donates to Toys for Tots.
Special effects artist Tyler Green built a treehouse inside a therapy room at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital’s Center for Youth and Families. (Contributed)
He made a tiny version of Dani on a keychain, which are given to children at the center, as well as a “Dani” baseball card and a tiny stuffed toy dog. The keychain is one of many toys he has printed for the center, Neveski said.
“I met John at the hospital, and he brings toys for the kids here,” Neveski said. “He’s been a great help to us; we use some of the things he makes in play therapy sessions. His toys have touched so many kids.”
Dani, she said, is part of the therapy team. “The kids see her as a therapist with four legs,” she said.
To reach the Center for Youth and Families at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and Hartford Healthcare, visit charlottehungerford.org or call 860-489-3391.
