Karen, a young girl at that age between childhood and adulthood, watched her mother fade away from cancer. While she had an older sister whom she could tell anything to, her sister no longer lived at home, and after her mother died, her sister was mourning, too. And her father was lost in his own grief. A family friend suggested that she go to Camp Forget-Me-Not.
Begun in 1992, Camp Forget-Me-Not is an overnight camp for grieving children between the ages of eight and 17 who have lost someone important in their lives. The camp is facilitated by Alive Grief Support Counselors, other Alive staff and community volunteers who have dealt with loss themselves. The camp will take place on Saturday, August 12, and Sunday, August 13, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The camp will take place at YMCA Camp Widjiwagan located at 3088 Smith Springs Road.
The camp is a safe place for these kids to learn how to cope with their sadness through therapeutic activities, while experiencing all the events of a regular camp like arts and crafts, water activities, games, swimming, zip lining, nature walks and more.
During the program, campers are provided with fun and also receive support while exploring feelings, thoughts and life changes they have experienced since the death of their loved one in a safe environment where they are treated with dignity and thoughtful regard.
Alive’s licensed grief counselors help the kids learn to remember their loved ones while making connections with peers who are also grieving. Most of the connections developed between the children continue into adulthood.
The camp helps kids understand that grief is a normal process in response to the loss of a loved one, that each person can heal from grief, that each person heals in their own way, and that each person heals in their own time. And this is all okay. Each child is given the care, attention, and acceptance they need to find success.
Volunteers are specially trained to serve as role models in the grief process and help provide companionship to the campers. The individual attention that volunteers provide to campers is what makes Camp Forget-Me-Not so special. Professional licensed therapists and counselors lead several therapeutic group sessions designed to address the age-specific needs of grieving campers.
Research discussed in the book Not Just Play: Summer Camp and the Profession of Social Work shows that participation in Camp Forget Me Not Does indeed help children learn healthy coping skills that help them deal with their feelings and to handle the changes that death causes in their lives.
The cost for the camp is $85 per child, however, a scholarship fund exists for any children who do not have the funds to pay the fee.
For additional information, call 615-346-8680 or email [email protected].
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