History and Evolution - Birch Family Services

BIRCH FAMILY CAMP MANUAL Table of Contents
1. History and Culture of the Birch Family Camp
2. Families at Camp
3. The Family Application Process
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Community Outreach
Judging Appropriateness
Applications
Home Visits
The Long Wait
Fear and Drop Outs
The 3 Year Rule
The Role of the Family Coordinator
4. Volunteers at Camp
5. The Volunteer Application Process
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Recruiting
Interviewing
Reference Checking
The Scourge of Paperwork
Follow-up and Evaluation
6. The Program – Staff Orientation and Training
7. The Program – Goal Setting for Campers
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Defining Program Goals
Intersecting Programmatic Cycles
Family Activities
Fitting Illness into the program
Commemorative
How Trust Manifests
8. The Site
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1.
History, Culture and Evolution
The Power of Personal Response
It began with a simple and humble notion. We wanted to offer families who were living with
AIDS a break from the overwhelming stress, isolation and exhaustion they faced every day, and
take them out of the hot city to a cooler, quieter, more tranquil place. We planned respite,
recreation, and psychological and medical support for campers ranging from infants to senior
citizens. With all this planning and organizing, we failed to anticipate one critical factor – the
lasting impact of Camp on our families, our volunteers and on us.
This impact is seen in our families, who have come to rely on Camp to provide them with the
physical, emotional and spiritual renewal they need to face the strains of living with AIDS. It is
seen in our volunteers, who put their lives on hold for one week each year, leaving behind
families, jobs, friends and creature comforts, to work twenty-four hour days caring for, caring
about and nurturing families. And the impact is seen in the program, its longevity, the important
lessons we learn each year from our families and volunteers, and the commitment to improve the
way we offer services.
Every summer, volunteers and families from diverse cultural, societal, economic, linguistic and
geographic background come together and live in harmony and mutual support. Camp strips
away the societal labels and reveals the beauty, brilliance, love and kindness of all who create
this community. Indifference, discrimination, fear and scorn are left at the gate, and compassion
and tolerance reign supreme as we celebrate life and establish relationships that sustain us
through difficult times.
It is this notion of personal response that is at the heart of camp.
A Simple and Profound Concept
The Border Babies
H. G. Birch Services (now Birch Family Services) was a program offering residential and
educational services to children with significant developmental disabilities in New York City. At
the urging of the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Birch’s founder,
Phyllis Susser, was introduced to Dr. Arye Rubenstein, a leader in the nascent field of pediatric
AIDS. Together, they collaborated on the opening of a new residence for children with AIDS, the
so-called Border Babies who’d been abandoned at the hospital and knew no other home, no
other family than the doctors and nurses on the floor.
The Children’s Center opened in January 1989. The community reaction to the notion of a home
for children with AIDS encapsulates precisely the degree of fear and hysteria, fueled by ignorance
and misinformation that spawned stigma, discrimination and, ultimately, hate for those living with
AIDS in the early years of the epidemic.
There were demonstrations, petitions and bomb
threats. The arrival of the babies to the Center from the hospital on opening day was done
under police guard. This was not the typical “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) response that
precedes the opening of any group home in a community setting. Instead, it spoke volumes
about the things that were broadly unknown at the time, especially how AIDS was transmitted,
and whether casual contact with people with AIDS was dangerous. For a moment, imagine being
so afraid of infection that you would utter threats against a baby. In the light of 2007, such a
response seems absolutely unfathomable. But, it happened and its impact shaped the long
history of the Birch Family Camp.
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A Bigger Problem
As development continued with the Children’s Center, Dr. Rubenstein was a tireless campaigner
in helping people visualize the bigger picture: if the community’s response to HIV infected babies
and toddlers was so extreme, imagine what it was like to be a family living with AIDS in the
community. As the months slipped by, he kept the dialogue going, introducing Phyllis to families
receiving care at his clinic in the Bronx. He drew attention to the gains made by the babies now
they were “at home”, being cared for in a non-hospital setting, having a more normalized
experience, and helped frame the potential for growth should families receive the same kind of
treatment.
In New York at the time, AIDS was yet another “Uptown/Downtown” story. In Manhattan, gay
men were disproportionately infected, and while they suffered and died with extra helpings of
stigma and discrimination, they also became a vocal and effective lobbying force. This force
changed laws, public opinion and the moved the dialogue from fear to treatment. In the poorest
neighborhoods of the five boroughs, it was women of color and their children who were
disproportionately infected and dying in ignominy. The public didn’t want to listen to the story of
a crack epidemic and rampant poverty burning out of control in these neighborhoods, or the
generation of AIDS orphans that was being produced. This was a community whose voice was
stifled by marginalization.
In August 1989, Arye Rubenstein’s ability to paint the big picture, and Phyllis Susser’s driving
force culminated in seven HIV positive families and thirteen volunteers taking a bus ride to the
country, an experiment that evolved into the Birch Family Camp.
The first session took place over a long weekend at a residential camp in northwestern New
Jersey. Mindful of stigma, the families were not told where they were going. Haunted by
memories of name-calling, isolation and the threat of violence, the families didn’t want their
identity or HIV status disclosed outside the camp. Fearful of possible repercussions, the camp
owners, friends of Phyllis Susser, allowed the rental on one condition: keep it a secret.
Imagine the leap of faith those seven families took that summer day in 1989. They did not know
Birch, and had no reason, other than Dr. Rubenstein’s word, to trust us. They did not know
where exactly they were going, merely that they were getting away from the city to a stigma-free
place of relaxation. Leaps of faith are integral to the functioning of camp to this day.
The concept of the camp was both simple and profound. Take a group of families, challenged by
AIDS, economic hardship and hopelessness and offer them a transformative experience uniquely
felt by each person. For parents, camp became a week of respite, education and recreation.
The program provided opportunities for relaxation, support, fun, grieving, and learning in a
caring, nurturing environment. For children, the program was a chance to be a “normal” kid,
participating in traditional camp activities like swimming, boating, arts and crafts, sport, nature,
camp outs and cabin time.
The Birch Family Project
In the beginning, the program seemed to cater to two distinct groups: tremendously ill single
parents and their children, many of whom were also ill, and grandparents, aunts or foster
mothers who had taken children into their homes following the deaths of daughters, sisters,
nieces. The program was intended to give these overburdened caregivers respite, a week of
support and hope. In the early years, the challenge was in holding out hope that families would
live till the following summer, or be well enough to return to camp. Many, many times, we would
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instead gather at a funeral home, and many times the secret of HIV/AIDS went to the grave with
our campers.
And yet, despite the number of campers who died, there were always more to fill the empty
spaces at camp.
The Turning Point
The advent of peri-natal screening and HAART drug cocktails defined the tipping point for the
camp program. The first five years of the program are best described as helping people live long
enough to die with dignity. The years since can be described as helping people live vibrant and
hopeful lives.
Until 1995, AZT was the only HIV medication available, and when taken in combination with the
myriad of other drugs required to treat the various and sundry opportunistic infections that
define AIDS, campers’ lives were ruled by their medication regime. All too often, it didn’t help:
campers’ illness continued unchecked until they died. In 1996, however, two treatment protocols
were implemented that made the literal difference between life and death.
Peri-natal Screening
With routine peri-natal screening, HIV positive expectant mothers were aggressively treated with
AZT throughout their pregnancies, and newborns were given post-natal AZT treatment. And
vertical transmission rates fell. Dramatically. In fact, the study was concluded prematurely, as
the results were so dramatic that to continue giving placebos to half the group could be seen as
negligent. Today, the rate of transmission from mother to child (vertical transmission) is below
1% in America. The scourge of pediatric HIV is, for all intents and purposes, over.
For the Birch Family Camp, this wondrous news meant the focal shift of our pediatric HIV
services, from dealing with dramatically ill children who rarely lived to their pubescence to
helping pubescent children and adolescents deal with the reality of living with a chronic yet
terminal disease that is largely sexually transmitted.
HAART Drug Cocktails
At the same time routine peri-natal screening/treatment was implemented, a new genre of drugs
hit the market: Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy. The therapy involved a series of drugs
types that, when taken in combination, actually suppressed the patient’s viral load, slowed the
virus’s ability to replicate, and gave the immune system a chance to re-build. After a decade of
little or no treatment options, small improvements would have made a huge difference. HAART
cocktails were more than a difference. They were a miracle.
More That A Week in the Woods
And so, with campers getting healthier, and fewer and fewer children being infected, it was time
to help families address more than HIV.
The program has not undergone radical changes since the first small session in 1989. We still
combine traditional camp activities with therapeutic interventions that target specific behaviors
and clinical needs. We still use a volunteer staff, and we still believe that simple things like
showing respect and defeating stigma make the world of difference. But camp underwent two
total paradigm shifts: it became a place to focus on life, and leave death to the fates and we
moved from absolute secrecy to international publicity!
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Leaving the Grim Reaper Behind
As you’ll read in the Program sections of this manual, interspersed with the traditional camp
activities were programs designed to confront issues of poverty, to support campers as they built
support networks and became connected to their community. We encouraged campers to stop
their inward focus, so long the hallmark of illness, and to look around them, to make plans into
the future, to re-engage in the job of parenting, giving their older children freedom from the role
they often had assumed. We continue to focus a tremendous amount of energy on helping
parent campers to start or continue the journey of disclosure: to be honest with their children
about the family’s HIV status, adoption, chemical dependence, and incarceration. Before
treatment was available, parents didn’t want to burden children with ugly or upsetting truths;
their lives were already hard enough and it was unlikely children would live long enough to worry
about sexual safety or taking precautions. Now disclosure was compounded by the fact that
parents had not only kept children uninformed, they had lied. Camp became a place to navigate
these very murky waters in a place of safety.
Moving from Secrecy to Publicity
While the program hasn’t changed in any significant way, its size and profile has. From a long
weekend with 7 families and 13 volunteers, camp has turned into two week long sessions serving
80 families per year, with over 200 volunteers from across the country and around the world.
While word of mouth recruiting still accounts for the biggest number of new volunteers, we have
also raised our public profile by coverage in major media outlets. As described, in the first year
we held camp in secret. Thereafter, we never hid who we were or what we did in our
fundraising, our promotional activities or our recruiting. We did promise our families to keep
their secrets within the program itself, but were clear that the world would know what we did. I
don’t know if this kind of cat and mouse game would ever fly today, given children’s facility with
technology and the ease of information sharing.
From the outset, the Birch Family Camp was different and its story was compelling. Early on, we
were profiled by national publications like Life and People Magazine and The New York
Times. Each story focused very narrowly, as so few families would consent to tell their story in
public for fear of retaliation. In the very early 1990’s, 60 Minutes proposed telling our story,
however there was no way to shoot a story for a video news magazine with few families willing
to be on camera. Ed Bradley and his production team never let go of the story, and returned to
camp in 1995. He found families willing to tell their stories, and we created processes by which
to keep other families safely out of the camera range. One Sunday night in February 1996, a 12
minute segment aired on 60 Minutes, telling the twin stories of our camp and our families. It
was extraordinarily compelling, showing the world in simple yet indelible way that families living
with AIDS looked and acted a lot like our own, harboring the same hopes, dreams and fears for
children. It showed that there was no reason to be afraid to be near people with HIV/AIDS, to
hug them, to befriend them, to learn from them. Most compelling, it showed, in poignant and
funny segments that the children with HIV/AIDS were like children everywhere – looking for
friendship, fun and mischief. That simple 12 minutes of national exposure did more for the Birch
Family Camp that could ever be quantified. The volunteers who sought us out as a result of that
broadcast have tended to stay part of the big Birch family for many years, still coming to camp
each summer or actively recruiting and fundraising. Donations flooded in, allowing us to grow
the program and serve more families. And, following this broadcast we were approached by
Howard Draft, whose long-term dedication to the camp in terms of financial and volunteer
support has literally kept camp alive.
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The Culture of the Birch Family Camp
There is no way to tell the story of camp without talking about the culture of camp, the very
backbone of the program. Every camp has a culture, a community unto its own. We all sing the
same songs, offer the same activities, and play the same games. But each camp has its own
tune, variation on theme or rules. It is these series of differences that make each camp unique,
that breeds camper and volunteer allegiance, and helps define the goals of the program. The
same is true for special needs camps, like Birch. While there are other camps for families with
HIV/AIDS, none can offer what Birch can, because our culture is unique.
We believe strongly that illness does not happen in a vacuum, that healthy family members are
as affected as those who are sick. Flowing from this belief is our certainty that the key to helping
families deal more effectively with illness is by supporting strong individuals to be a stronger and
more effective family unit.
As you will read through this manual, we began the camp program on a tripod of notions: the
healthfulness of living with dignity; the affirming property of community; and the power of
personal response. In the 20 years since, many things have changed, but these things remain.
Program Traditions
Camp is a week in the woods, and yet it is so much more. A week is a very short time in which
to achieve significant therapeutic milestones, and yet we have a long track record of exactly that.
One element of our success rests in the consistency of the program: families and volunteers
know what to expect, both in terms of the fluidity of the fun and the universality of the safety.
Another element is that activities are based in simplicity, both because they are cheaper and
because simplicity requires input by both campers and staff. When a program goal is community
building, universal input is a perfect building block.
The Little Things
Powerful messages can be sent in the simplest and smallest ways. We understand that actually
getting to camp is a huge leap of faith for our families, and that the most difficult part is often
getting packed, to the bus stop and waiting for the bus. To help ease this transition, we send
staff into the city to wait at all the bus stops, to welcome families, to provide whatever assistance
is required, and to communicate with senior camp staff when there are issues or when the bus
approaches the camp gates. Many times, the simple presence of volunteers has meant the
difference between a family attending or missing camp.
When the camp bus finally rolls through the gates, it is greeted with a mass of volunteers,
cheering and holding up signs with the campers’ names. As they get off the bus, families are
immediately touched, usually with a hug, an arm squeeze or a handshake depending on their
level of comfort. There is no one at the Birch Camp who is afraid to touch someone with
HIV/AIDS, and that fact is transmitted from the outset. A cheering mob also transmits the
message that people are glad to see you, are eager to work with you, to share their life with
yours. For isolated families, the feeling of being welcome, of being wanted, is a tremendously
powerful one. Each family is assigned a buddy, who takes them on a camp tour, helps settle
them in and makes sure that parents know where their children will be staying. Luggage is taken
from the bus to the appropriate cabins upon arrival, thanks to an elaborate tagging system and a
cadre of “schleppers” who take over the fleet of camp golf carts. In the uphill journey of building
trust, arriving at a cabin on a camp tour only to find your luggage has beaten you there is a
major step forward!
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Star Grams
Getting and giving praise are also powerful motivators for all of us. In the course of our normal
lives, we can always do more of both, but in our families’ lives, praise is in short supply. At
camp, we aim to turn this on its head.
A star gram is the camp equivalent of passing notes in class. It is a way to tell someone that you
saw them do something amazing, that you are glad they are here, that they have meant
something in your life, that they made you laugh, that you like their shoes…. But, when written
on a small slip of colored paper with a marker or a crayon, or a glitter gel pen, put in a box
decorated with sparkles, and delivered to you during mealtime, a star gram is just about the
most wonderful piece of mail you’ll ever receive. Star grams allow parents to tell their children
that they’ve noticed them doing wonderful things, for counselors to provide support to each other
and their campers, for children to send love to their parents. Often it is difficult to say these
things aloud, but in a star gram, there is no limit to depths of sentiment that can be transmitted.
A star gram is just a simple piece of photocopied paper, and yet I have every single one that I’ve
received over the 11 years I have been at camp as both volunteer and director.
The Real World
Our camp volunteers hold a wide variety of positions in their real world lives; many are
responsible for vast corporate budgets and have a supervisory role over many people. Our camp
families live in the poorest neighborhoods of New York City, live on public assistance and tend to
be marginally literate. The “real” world, or the one that exists outside the camp gate, is one
where the differences between our volunteers and our families are extreme and generally
unbridgeable.
Within the camp gate however, none of this matters. Many camp volunteers have no idea what
other volunteers do for a living: they are too busy chasing campers, preparing for the next
activity or event. What matters is that you are engaged with your group, that you contribute to
the greater camp community, that you are kind, that you know how to have fun, that you always
know where to find an extra ounce of energy when the stores are low, that you are interested in
learning about and from others.
This striping away of the typical societal indicators of success that usually serve to divide is a
hallmark of the camp community and a defining feature of our culture. Camp is a place where
social positioning doesn’t matter. Campers become volunteers, some volunteers have become
campers. We bring what we have to the table and it is the collective experience that matters.
Moving Forward and Looking Ahead
On February 1, 2007, the Birch Family Camp ceased to be a program of Birch Family Services.
As Birch Services moved to consolidate its services in the sphere of developmental disability and
family support, it transitioned the program to Camp Heartland, an HIV service provider. Camp
Heartland has been operating an HIV/AIDS summer camp program for children since 1994.
This transition ushers in an exciting new life for the Birch Family Camp, and a chance to expand
the types of programs that can be offered, and to continue empowering the families of New York
City.
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2.
Families at Camp. Wait…What?
At the Birch Family Camp, we get that a lot. When you think of camp, you think about kids. You
think of teenage or young adult counselors. You think of uncomfortable beds, questionably
hygienic bathrooms and camp food. What adult would voluntarily sign up for that?
But when most people look back at their personal camp experiences, they remember that camp
was a place where they learned to be independent, where they were visible and productive
members of their first community and where they learned life lessons about friendship. Camp is,
quite simply, transformative.
And so, when a family is coping with something that is in itself transformative, like illness, camp
is a perfect place in which to find community, respite and support.
What Does A Family Living With HIV/AIDS Look Like?
Families living with HIV/AIDS are not a “type”. They aren’t rich or poor, black, brown or white.
They aren’t gay or straight, English, Creole or Spanish speaking. They are all of those things
and more. They are like our families, yours and mine. They live each day: they put food on the
table, get kids to appointments, to school and to bed. They have days of great joy and of
sorrow, of hope and disappointment.
But, for their individual differences, families living with
HIV face similar issues.
Discrimination and Isolation
Twenty years ago, many of us didn’t know how AIDS was spread and this ignorance laid the
groundwork of the stigma and discrimination that exists to this day for people living with HIV. At
that time, the prevailing attitude was that you got AIDS from gay sex, being an IV drug user, or
being promiscuous, and that you deserved everything you got. So virulent was the fear fueled
hate that people were literally burned out of their homes, were terrorized in their neighborhoods
and learned quickly to suffer and die in silence. In 2007 we know that we can’t be infected by
casual contact, that there are precautions available to remain protected in intimate situations,
and that with treatment and good self-care, people with HIV can live long and productive lives.
There are laws that protect people from institutional discrimination, and there are huge public
awareness campaigns to educate people about HIV. And yet, twenty years in to this epidemic,
stigma remains and discrimination thrives in subtle and cruel ways.
Our camp families react to stigma and discrimination by isolating:
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being afraid of the reaction of their friends and families, they do not have support
systems in place when times are hard or to share joy
because of past negative experiences with disclosure, they do not tell their children,
friends or extended family of the family’s HIV status
fearing the reactions of others, children who are told of the family’s status are advised to
keep the information secret, thus making both the information and the status shameful
being overwhelmed with the guilt of infecting a child merely by giving birth, parents are
emotionally unable to begin the discussion of disclosure.
This sense of secrecy and shame around the HIV issues extends to other things in the family’s
life – a discussion of HIV status would lead to truth-telling about other significant issues like
previous drug use, sexual promiscuity or infidelity, or adoption/foster situations. When life is so
mined with explosive and de-stabilizing secrets and there are scant outlets for release, stress
builds and depression is not a potential but an eventuality.
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History of Chemical Dependence
In thinking of the hundreds of families that have been part of camp in our 19 year history,
nothing has had a more sweeping or devastating impact than chemical dependence. This is not
to say that all our campers face personal issues with drugs or alcohol, but that they are affected
in the same way they are all affected by HIV by their own or other loved one’s drug or alcohol
use.
Many adult campers have, at some point in their lives, been either clinically chemically
dependent, or have been active casual users of drugs or alcohol. Some of the sequelae of this
dependence for both adults and children are:
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the break up of family due to loss of/ breaks in custody, with subsequent experiences in
the foster care system, or adoption
low self esteem which is both a predictive factor for the dependence itself as well as a
consequence of drug-seeking behaviors
a lack of judgment
intimacy/trust issues for both parent and child
o letting someone else care for their child can be very difficult
o due to parents’ self-esteem issues, it can often be difficult for them to see their
child succeed or develop positive significant relationships with others
a lack of coping skills
failure to practice good self-care, leading to increased health issues
engaging in risky behavior
legal consequences (some of our parents have been incarcerated because of their drug
involvement.)
manipulative behaviors when involved in group activities
chaotic living situations with great disruptions to children’s schooling and sense of safety
Because of the devastation that active addiction can leave in its wake, a cardinal rule of camp is
that campers must be established in their sobriety prior to camp. Any person (staff, volunteer or
family member) found to be under the influence, or actively using, will be sent home immediately
and the appropriate authorities will be advised.
Poverty
There is no way to talk about HIV that does not involve a discussion of poverty – globally, the
two are now so entwined that we are unlikely to make appreciable differences in one without
finding ways to deal with the other. And while we seem able to engage in this discussion with
regard to desolate areas in Africa and Asia, it is the dirty secret of the American inner city that
American policy makers don’t want to discuss.
The Birch Family Camp has always catered to families living in the New York City area, and with
few exceptions, our families live in the neighborhoods statistically proven to be the poorest, the
neighborhoods with the highest drug use, the highest incidence of male incarceration, and the
worst performing schools. Many of our families live in “The Projects”, vast public housing sites
with high crime and dismal living conditions.
Most of the families who come to camp receive some form of public assistance, whether welfare
or disability related. However, in order to remain on such assistance, they deal with Kafka-eque
bureaucracies: they must appear in person for appointments with case workers (medical, social
services, court-based, housing or all of the above), and end up sitting for hours in waiting rooms
for their name to be called. If they miss the appointment for whatever reason, they are cut off
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benefits, and must start the application process from the beginning. This means that mothers
with small children who do not have supports must bring children with them, who must then also
sit to wait for appointments with case workers that could take mere minutes once they actually
occur. Many of these assistive services end up being a punitive experience that is virtually
impossible to navigate, have many dead ends and other internal redundancies, and are soulsucking in the way they generate a sense of despair and a looming fear of losing benefits.
Girls and women of color in their child-bearing years who live in the neighbourhoods described
above are at highest risk for infection. Now that pediatric AIDS is virtually a thing of the past in
America, we teeter on the brink of infecting the generation that was saved. After generations of
living in the desperate cycle of poverty, these are the same girls and women who most often are
powerless to self-advocate:
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they are under-educated and have few employment options that provide a living wage
or growth opportunities
they live within a cultural norm that condones (or encourages) the notion of a “baby
daddy”, or having babies with many different men, none of whom provide day to day
support or joint care of the children but who have specific expectations of how the child
is to be clothed
they feel powerless to demand a man use a condom, or to be tested in advance of
beginning a sexual relationship, for fear of being beaten, or of being abandoned.
And thus, with no other internal or external resources upon which to draw, many of our girls take
protection, shelter or sustenance when and where they find it. If the price is unprotected sex
with wildly at-risk partners, then that is the price. Camp is a place where young girls can be
themselves in a de-sexualized way, where they can explore their strengths, give their dreams a
voice, be age appropriate, and be with strong role models who can offer them support in an
ongoing way. It is a place where boys can also give voice to dreams, to talk about the pressures
of society upon them, and to be with strong male role models. For parents, many of whom are
single mothers, it is a place to re-connect with the person they wanted to be, to see their
children in new ways and explore new ways to look at parenting, and to learn positive selfadvocacy skills.
Recurring Illness or Incapacity
HIV/AIDS is now a chronic terminal disease – with good self-care, compliance with medication
regimes that are increasingly less complex, and a positive outlook, people are remaining
asymptomatic and healthy much longer. Many of our campers have viral loads that are
undetectable and T-cell counts that are virtually normal. And then they aren’t. Or then the
medications aren’t working anymore. Or the side effects of the medication are almost
unbearable in terms of quality of life.
The reality of life for our camp families is a duality: they can look forward to a longer and
healthier life than ever before while at the same time their health will always be a undermining
and unpredictable factor.
One of the biggest factors in remaining healthy is to keep a good outlook on life, and to reduce
stress. For our families, based on all the factors listed above, herein lies the battle. How do you
manage the stress, the depression and the unpredictability when your life is hedged in on all
sides by exactly those things?
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Hope
When the Birch Family Camp began 19 years ago, there wasn’t discussion about being HIV positive
– without treatment options a person went immediately from being infected to having AIDS and
thence quite quickly to dying. In those years, the hope was that there would be treatment options
developed in time to help, or that a newborn would sero-convert, or that the secret of the disease
would be kept unto the grave.
As treatment options became available, as fewer and fewer babies were born infected and the need
to keep secrets abated, our family’s hopes have increased: to raise a family, to see children off to
college, married or having children of their own, to be well enough to return to school, to get a job,
to dream of a better future.
There have been hundreds of families at the Birch Family Camp. The one thing they have in
common is their ability to hope. For many, camp has been the place to fertilize this seed, to water
it, and to see it develop strong and life-sustaining roots.
Things to Think About
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Camp is a therapeutic program, and as such there needs to be coordination with
treatment providers. As such, families must be referred through their caregivers, and
sign consents so we can communicate with physicians and social workers. This
provides opportunities: to be aware of significant issues with which the family is
dealing which may affect their camp experience; to develop personalized strategies to
help deal more effectively with these issues; and to provide feedback to caregivers
after camp. This sense of continuity of care is important in keeping the therapeutic role
of camp meaningful.
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Two central tenants of camp are safety and trust. Chemical dependence and drug
seeking behaviors can devastate this in an instant. It is imperative to have the
discussion with families about their history of chemical dependence in their pre-camp
home visits, and to deal quickly and definitively with behaviors should they appear at
camp. Dealing with this in an upfront, non-judgmental and consistent manner will
encourage adults to talk honestly about their needs. For example, someone who is
newly sober, but who needs to attend AA/NA meetings regularly (more than once
weekly) is not appropriate for camp. However, if they’ve maintained their sobriety by
the following year and are better able to cope on their own, they may make and ideal
candidate. This message also needs to be communicated clearly to referral sources.
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“Family” is a very difficult notion to define. In our community, it may mean two
parents and their biological children, or parents and adoptive/foster children, or single
parents, or grandparents or aunts and uncles raising children in kinship arrangements.
Often, our parents care for children for whom they have no legal, merely de facto,
responsibility.
Some understand what camp might offer and try to include
grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or friend’s children. If parents can’t or don’t want
to go to camp, but don’t want their children to miss the opportunity (or they want time
away from their children), they may encourage their parent (the grandparent) or other
family members to apply, claiming to be the caregiver for the child. Thus, determining
who may attend camp can be a tricky predicament. To whom do you say no? Figuring
out these complicated familial situations is important both for ensuring there is space
for all who qualify but also to ensure that children are at camp in the care of their legal
custodian, someone who is authorized to make health care and other decisions on
behalf of the child.
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3.
The Family Application Process
Outreach
Many of the agencies that offer HIV, chemical dependency or family support services are aware of
the Birch Family Camp, but every winter we reach out to provide agencies with program
information, family requirements and session dates. This may involve the provision of paperwork,
or staff training sessions. In reaching out to agencies, the ideal is to build relationships with both
the program directors as well as the front line case managers. In this way, links between programs
are not broken by staff turnaround and there is a better chance of forging both service provision,
administrative, therapeutic and funding relationships. Strong relationships with referral agencies
also ensure that camp continues to evolve to address issues relevant to our families’ ongoing
struggles.
It is very important to be clear with referral agencies about the types of families that are
appropriate for camp or, more importantly, inappropriate for camp. Everyone who works in this
business works with people of extraordinary need. Where there is a chance for a lucky break, or
some respect, or for respite, caseworkers want their clients to get as much as possible. However,
as discussed before, there is a fine balance to strike when adults live communally. Ideally, a joint
meeting with the agency program supervisor, the case management team, the camp director and
family coordinator/social worker should be held in advance of applications being made available.
This meeting provides an excellent touchstone upon which to return post-camp discussions of
inappropriate referrals or of building in supports for marginally appropriate referrals.
The Birch Family Camp has always operated on fundraised dollars and there has never been a fee
for families to attend. However, we have had funding arrangements with agencies. For example,
we were the recipient of a United Way grant over a number of years. Each of the agencies that fell
under the UW Women and Children’s Initiatives umbrella gave us a set per capita rate for their
clients to come to camp. The amount of money available per agency was capped, and we always
accepted far more families than there were allocated monies. Partnerships between agencies like
this help to provide service for the greatest number of people, and help to reduce overlaps in
service delivery. They must however be carefully managed so that there is no expectation on either
side that the availability of grant monies will modify or waive referral requirements.
What Is An “Appropriate” Family?
When planning a special needs family camp, there are needs-specific rules as well as more general
rules for recruiting families.
For the Birch Family Camp, the needs-specific rule is that someone in the family must be HIV
positive – parent, child or both. Once this test is met, all other requirements are general and
would fit any other program.
•
•
•
Families must be referred by their treating agency case manager, social worker or
physician. This gives us the ability to track paperwork and create therapeutic partnerships
with professionals, leading to better follow-up and continuity of care post-camp.
The parent(s) must bring only the children who are in their legal care, which ensures that
they have the ability to make medico-legal decisions on their behalf.
All campers must have medicals filled out by their treating physicians, thus ensuring that
they are (at the time of application at least) healthy enough to participate in camp
activities. While we can provide a significant degree of medical care, the goal of camp is
participation, not spending time in the infirmary.
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•
•
•
Family members must be asked about their past and current chemical dependence history.
While programs like ours may have a higher likelihood of drug and alcohol issues, our
families are by no means the only ones who struggle. People with active addictions have
manipulative behaviors and these behaviors torpedo all attempts at creating a cohesive
community and threaten other’s safety. And, obviously, there are legal ramifications to
having drugs and alcohol at camp.
Campers must be physically and mentally able to be at camp. While there are all manner
of adaptive devices and arrangements that can be implemented to make a camp stay a
safe and fun one for family members with disabilities, there are times when a physical or
mental disability may be too difficult for volunteer and untrained staff to deal with safely.
This is an area that must be explored at the time of application, and dealt with sensitively
yet definitively.
It seems obvious, but a family must include both parents (or the parent figure) and
children.
Applications
In the very early spring, agencies and clinics are invited to seek applications for their clients.
Where possible, we like to work with social workers, doctors/nurses, and case managers in order to
further emphasize that the Birch Camp is a therapeutic modality and not merely a lovely holiday.
Returning families are contacted by us directly, and given their applications to fill out.
Agencies are invited to request applications, in writing (letter, fax, email) by family make up (i.e.
one parent, three children; two parents, five children et cetera). This makes case managers
actively consider which families on their caseload may be appropriate for camp, and essentially
commit to get services for them. Where families have heard of camp by word of mouth and
contact us for applications, we in turn refer them to their social workers/case managers.
In order to track applications by referral source, we developed a database of referral sources and
application requests. All applications are numbered, and we are able to determine which family
was referred by which agency, or which agency was unable to get their clients to complete
applications. This helps us to target places in which to improve referral relationships or to assess
the ongoing viability of a partnership. It also allows us to track whether agencies understand the
kinds of families that are appropriate and which agencies make indiscriminate referrals. When
reviewed over a multi-year period, it also helps to quantify the growth of agency relationships.
Given the nature of the families that are appropriate for the Birch Family Camp, most of the
interview/application process is done at the last minute. In fact, we have done family interviews
days before camp begins. Administratively, it is a very frustrating time, as we have to ensure there
are adequate staffing resources and program supplies but we don’t have head counts until late in
the day. Where possible, the application process itself can become therapeutically valuable to
families. It can help them become more responsible about paperwork, about being sensitive to
other people’s time and efforts, and to making proactive choices in their family’s best interests.
After an application is received from a family (directly or through the social worker), it is reviewed
for completeness. If incomplete, the camp assistant works with a family to get the appropriate
documents in and the application completed. Once complete, the Family Service Coordinator
makes an appointment to meet new applicant families in their home.
Home Visits
Visiting with potential campers in their own homes serves many purposes:
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Putting a human face to the camp program and beginning the delicate process of building
trust
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Demonstrating to the family that we understand the difficulty in and cost of bundling up the
entire family and bringing them into the city by public transit
Meeting all the family members in person in order to answer any questions about camp
they may have, and to learn about kid’s likes/dislikes/routines from them directly.
Having a frank conversation about both disclosure within the family and chemical
dependence history.
Allowing us to see the family in their own environment
o
o
o
o
Is the neighborhood/housing situation safe and adequate
Will the family have the clothing/toiletry items necessary to be at camp for a week
or will they need assistance
Does the apartment/house reflect the family on the application, especially the
number of children (i.e. is it obvious that everyone has a place to sleep or store
their belongings)
Can we manage the family’s special needs, if any (i.e. mobility, psychiatric or other
emotional issues).*
* If it is determined that we cannot meet a family’s needs at camp (after a full exploration of
assistive supports has been done), that message will be conveyed immediately to the referring
worker, in order that efforts can be made to make referrals to other, more appropriate, programs.
The Long Wait
Following the home visit, a family will receive an acceptance package, including a suggested
packing list, and offers of help in getting ready. It is then that the long wait begins. Through this
time, we are in touch with them, asking if they need help, and offering our assistance with
procuring things (especially toiletries and clothes). For many, they know others who have been to
camp through their participation in support groups or other social/therapeutic modalities. Where
possible, we try to link these new campers with veterans so they can ask questions and to mitigate
drop out due to fear.
Fear and Drop-out
As discussed extensively, our families are both isolated and distrustful. For many, the whole
application exercise invites a level of personal disclosure that is both novel and alarming. Many
families have never been out of the city, have never slept in a different room than their children,
have never socialized outside their own cultural community. Others are ashamed of their poverty
and won’t reach out for help in gathering the clothes and toiletries for their family members.
Others are so terribly isolated and fearful that someone will learn of their secret that they are
paralyzed in joining in groups that have any public connection to HIV/AIDS services. And, with the
arbitrary nature of the disease, last minute illnesses and hospitalizations are a regular occurrence.
For all of these and a myriad more reasons, many families fail to engage in the application process,
fail to respond to home visit attempts, or merely don’t show up for the bus to camp. It is shocking
that a parent would deprive their family of a chance to get away, to be in a supportive and fun
environment, and it is sad to consider the loss of potential for a family that fails to show. However
it is a reality and one which must be taken into account in camp planning.
It is for this reason that we overbook camp. Where we can comfortably house 35 families per
session, we book 40. We are in touch with families and their workers by phone and by visit in the
time between the home visit and camp. We offer assistance in finding supplies and make sure they
know that there is no shame in needing help. We work with them to find bus stops that are as
close to their home as possible, and where there are language barriers, we find bilingual volunteers
to make sure the communication is clear. The night before camp, we call every family, ask about
the packing process to see if they need anything, re-confirm bus stops and times and try to raise
excitement and decrease fear. If there is a hint of drop-out, if the packing process has not yet
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begun, or if a parent is wavering on whether or not to show up, we also engage the social worker
or case manager.
At the end of the day with an emotionally fragile and isolated community, there will always be dropouts. The response however must be two-fold: overbook or be otherwise flexible and provide
families as much advance support and communication as possible.
The 3-Year Rule
In the beginning, families were invited back to camp for as many summers as they were healthy
enough to be there. Sadly, for many families, their stay was not long. With the advent of better
medications and the dramatic turn around in our campers’ health however, families were able to
return year after year. And, like any “normal” camp, children grew up within the program. This
longevity was an administrative double edged sword however. While we celebrated the renewed
chance of life given our families, there was no space in our limited program for new families. After
much consultation and heart wrenching debate, a decision was made to have families at camp for a
limit of 3 years.
What was so special about 3, versus 4 or 5 years? The program goals had, from the outset, been
therapeutic: take families, isolated by disease and poverty, and let them experience being part of a
community. The desired result would be that the families, having experienced this taste of
community, would seek it on their own back in the city; that they would begin to reach out, create
and be part of support networks. Though there was no quantifiable data to support the success of
the outcome, there was strong and compelling anecdotal evidence that camp worked. In analyzing
the program and the outcomes however, it was felt that families received maximum therapeutic
value in their first three years at camp; that thereafter the benefit was socialization. And so, for the
last decade, families have been coming to camp for 3 years, and then yielding their spot to a new
family.
In the past few years, we have begun to re-evaluate the policy. While it is true that families
received maximum benefit in terms of connectivity after 3 years, families that had their 3 years
while the children were very young have dramatically different needs a decade later. This is
especially so with families where the children are HIV positive. Thus, we have begun to seek out
alumni families and offer them spaces at camp after a period of time away. We also use these
families, whom we know well, as last minute replacements for families that drop out.
The Role of the Family Coordinator
Each camp program will have a different staffing compliment, however in the operation of a special
needs program with therapeutic program goals, a vital part of the team must be a Family
Coordinator. Given the prevalence of chemical dependence in the lives of our camper families, it is
very helpful if the coordinator has experience in this field or working with this population. This
person will have a social work or psychology background, and be the primary liaison between the
families, the referral agencies and the camp program.
In the off-season, the Family Coordinator is responsible for reaching out to camper families:
• To keep in touch and provide a consistent supportive presence,
• To make sure the camp is made aware of the positive and negative events in a family’s life,
and provide whatever assistance is required,
• To pass on information about up-coming events or programs,
• To ensure that families are receiving services for which they are entitled, which usually
involves reaching out to various service providers in the health, social and education
sectors,
• To ensure that families know they can always reach out for help.
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As the camp season approaches, the Family Coordinator begins to work with referral agencies on
the application process, helping to define the profile of an appropriate family and to identify
alternate program suggestions for those families that don’t match the profile.
At camp, it is the Family Coordinator who heads up the clinical staff, and who is the nexus for all
liaison with referring social workers and other psych or social services. The coordinator is involved
with staff to ensure that clinical issues are being dealt with in an appropriate fashion. The
Coordinator will work in concert with the Camp Director in ensuring that matters are dealt with
appropriately and consistently, and with a view to the greater camp community.
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4.
Volunteers at Camp
Camp began with the help of 13 volunteers, Birch Services staff who gave up their weekend to help
take 7 families to camp. They played all the roles, from cook to counselor to clinician. Out of this
simple arrangement grew a cadre of volunteers now numbering in the hundreds each summer,
ranging in age from 16-79 and from New York City, across the country and around the world.
Why Volunteers?
The easy answer to the question of whether to hire a paid staff or a volunteer one is money. Even
with endowments, not for profit programs will always live in the shadow of financial restraint, and
taking staff costs out of the budget allows monies to go directly to program and families. But that,
indeed, is the short answer.
Most summer camps are staffed by high school and college aged students, who bring youthful
enthusiasm, a willingness to work for low wages and live in spartan lodging. They are also easily
able to make connections with typical campers, as they are relatively close in age to them, have
recently personally dealt with many of the issues and crises that routinely come up. But a
residential camp program catering to a special needs population requires a different set of staff
skills that are expensive to come by. I will use the Birch Family Camp as an example.
The Medical Staff
To operate a program for families living with HIV, the first place you must start is the infirmary and
the medical staff. Most camps operate with a camp nurse who dispenses medications and treats
acute illness and injury. At the Birch Camp, over half the camp is on medication, many taking antiretroviral drugs with complicated regimes, as well as medications for psychiatric issues,
opportunistic infection, diabetes, asthma and controlled substances like methadone. Acute
episodes include the normal camp “stuff” such as poison ivy, ear infections, sprains, strains and
upset tummies, as well as asthmatic crisis, drug and alcohol withdrawal, psychiatric episodes, and
acute HIV illness. Thus, it is imperative to have a medical staff that includes nurses and doctors.
Because we serve both adults and children, it is also important to have staff with specialty training
in both pediatric and adult medicine. That depth of medical expertise is expensive.
From the outset, Birch Family Camp operated in partnership with a medical facility that provided
medical staff at no cost. At this point, our physician staff is a mix of “attending” level physicians
and residents who are allowed to work at camp as an elective rotation. Because camp is
considered an elective, and that residents are being supervised by an “attending”, the hospital
liability insurance extends during their camp stay. Some physicians in private practice are able to
arrange to extend their private insurance, and if this cannot be arranged, Camp will buy malpractice
coverage for their camp stay. We also offer insurance for nursing staff who, typically and unfairly,
are not covered by an extension of their hospital or private insurance.
The Clinical Staff
Early on, it was realized that HIV was not the only issue on our family’s plates. In fact, for some,
HIV was the least of their problems! Camp offered them a refuge from the unbearable pressures of
poverty, abuse, marginalization, and abandonment. The effect of this refuge was like taking the lid
off a boiling pot, with the contents overflowing across the counter. When families are able to take
the lid off, or to let down their guard, or to trust, the issues come spilling out. Many of these issues
can be addressed simply, by the staff giving out hugs, or listening, or re-acting to behaviors with
consistency and respect. But, some issues are beyond the skill level of laypeople. Thus, we’ve
always ensured that there are trained clinicians, whether social workers or psychologists, on staff to
provide professional assistance.
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As with medical staff above, the cost of such staff would be prohibitive were they not volunteers.
And, without them, camp would be very rocky experience indeed.
High Staff: Camper Ratios
Birch Family Camp is one for special needs and routine staffing levels are not appropriate to achieve
our goals. Such is the case with most special needs camp.
In the beginning, we needed a virtual 1:1 ratio merely to deal with the camper’s fragile heath and
their very complicated medication schedules. Their lives were so overwhelmingly complicated and
desperate that the only long term planning was helping people figure out what would happen with
the surviving children. The fact that there were people willing to touch them, to hug them, to
support them was sufficient in terms of making them feel they mattered or belonged. In the last
ten years however, all changed with the advent of better drug options and the general
improvement in our camper’s health.
Now, our experience is to deal with the spectre of death rather than death itself; with the long-term
effects of poverty; with social issues that now can be addressed in a meaningful way. This type of
work is hard, focused and intensive and leads to quick burn out for those without professional
training. Having a high staff: camper ratio helps to mitigate against counselor burn out.
Of course, campers under the age of five, regardless of their health or their issues, are busy wee
people and require lots of hands and eyes to keep them safe and out of mischief. They are always
staffed on at least a 1:1 basis, with an overage if possible to allow for staff breaks!
Other Reasons for Volunteers
Age Range Reflective of the Community
This year at camp, our youngest camper was 16 months, while our oldest was 80, a great
grandmother with custody of her three great grandkids who ranged in age from 6 - 10. Our
volunteer age range was 16 to 75. Thus camp was plugged into the energy of the young, and
grounded in the experience of the older members of the community.
A counselor for the parent group who has actually raised kids, or worked, or been on the
rollercoaster that is a long term adult relationship, is far better equipped to help someone deal with
these very issues than a college student, however mature they may be. And, while teens or young
adults have a better sense of adolescent pop culture, kids in crisis sometimes need someone who is
used to staying up all night with a sick child, or who recognizes the signs of brewing illness or
emotional outbursts.
Camp is also a place celebrated for after-hour misbehavior, and certainly a degree of misbehavior is
a vital component of the strange alchemy that makes camp a magical place. However, when the
staff is mixed in gender and age, and a single counselor or activity group may have teenagers,
young adults, and those in their 40’s, 50’s or 60’s, the hijinx tend to be self-moderating.
Thus, we’ve discovered that a camp staffed by volunteers of a broad age range best reflects our
camper community and gives a level of stability required to deal with significant issues in a nontraditional environment.
Breadth of Experience
Doctor, Nurse, Social Worker, Psychologist, Massage Therapist, Staff Trainer, Mediator, Television
Personality, Business Executive, Teacher, Officer – Special Forces, Tour Guide, Art Therapist,
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Advertising Executive, Graphic Designer, UPS Driver, Fashion Designer, Writer, Artist, Student,
Professor, Investment Banker, Television Producer, Lawyer, Web Producer, Editor, Photographer,
Magazine Editor, Homemaker, Actor, Musician, Retiree, Architect, Paramedic, Event Planner,
Fundraiser, Secretary, Nutritionist
This is a partial list of the “real word” occupations of some of our volunteers. They take a week of
their summer holidays, arrange for paid leave, or otherwise make arrangements to put their lives on
hold in order to come to camp to make a difference in someone else’s life (and to have someone
make a difference in their own in return). Some of these folks are at the start of their careers,
while others are deep in the middle or nearing the end. However, when they get to camp, they go
where they are needed, they do an extraordinary job of making a marginalized group of people feel
at home and a part of something bigger then themselves. The usual (and refreshing) answer to the
question of “What do you do?” is “I work with the 8-10 year old boys”, or “I am in arts and crafts”.
This extensive breadth of professional experience also lends itself to actual camp programming.
During interviews, volunteers are asked to outline any hidden talents they may have, like juggling
or soap making. They are also canvassed, should they have a relevant professional background,
whether they could/would run programs in Eating Well on a Budget, or Avoiding Predatory Credit,
or Easy Personal Finance or Legal Issues. In this way our campers receive professional advise on
issues they could not otherwise afford, or have heretofore avoided. Campers know the person
leading the program, have laughed and cried with them and have learned to trust them with the
truth. As a result, they tend to ask questions and share troubling personal details that help unlock
some of their issues. This new-found candor provides a link for ongoing follow-up once back in the
city.
Geographical and Cultural Differences
Virtually all our families come from New York City, and some have never been away from it. Their
borough, and what they see on the television and in the movies often frame their experience of the
world. Our volunteers are from New York, from across the States, Canada and Europe. From time
to time, we find volunteers from Australia and South Africa, usually drawn to camp by exchange
programs, word of mouth or by finding it on the Web. For many, their understanding of the people
and life in the tough neighborhoods of NYC is framed by the television and movies. Camp provides
an opportunity for myths to be explored and exploded about what our campers and volunteers face
on a day-to-day level. Volunteers discover that it is possible for joy, hope and success to exist in
the poorest and most desperate of neighborhoods, while campers learn that they really do have
things in common with people who live in different places, in different cultural and socio-economic
circumstances.
Ethnically, campers are predominately African American and Latino, in about equal measure.
Volunteers, sadly, are predominately white. While a better racial mix is preferable both in terms of
reflecting the camper population and in seeing the African American and Latino community rally
around their own members, camp provides an interesting cultural exchange for both campers and
volunteers. I think this can be best framed by an anecdote from a reunion in Central Park. It was
a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon and the Park was full of people. We’d gathered in a circle, like at
camp, to sing a few songs. Standing together, arms around each other, holding hands, laughing,
were white, black, Latino, Asian, rich, poor and somewhere between. A passerby tapped a
volunteer’s shoulder and asked, “What is this?”
“A family reunion”, she replied.
Former Campers as Volunteers
One of the most important and exciting aspects of volunteer recruiting in the past ten years is the
inclusion of former campers. We’ve always operated under the belief that camp is a community in
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which everyone had a place. Campers were encouraged to believe that their contributions were as
valuable as anyone else’s. And nothing underscores this belief stronger than a camper being able
to give back, to be a role model and to be on equal footing. The truth is that they bring such
amazing energy and perspective to camp with their intimate and personal knowledge of the path
campers walk.
Where possible, groom teen campers for a future leadership role at camp. Set up counselor-intraining programs. Keep an eye for parent campers who self-select leadership roles or to who other
parents look for advice and support. Help them find child care resources that free them to come to
camp as volunteers.
We have implemented a practice that has former campers returning as staff to a different camp
session. This allows them a degree of anonymity should they choose not to disclose their status,
and helps ensure that they are seen as staff by their fellow volunteers rather than campers.
High School Students
A note on the use of those under the age of 18: Many special needs camp use 18 as the bottom
end of their staff or volunteer range, feeling that one needs to have a certain maturity to deal with
the issues that manifest at camp. While it is true that one needs maturity, it is not clear that
achieving the age of 18 is any reliable measuring stick for maturity! The Birch Family Camp has
routinely and very successfully recruited and used 16 year old volunteers. At 16, young volunteers
have skills and energy that are desperately needed at camp. They are more likely to be routinely
babysitting and thus have recent experience with small children, they are more likely to have
lifeguarding qualifications, and they know the pop culture references for the campers! Clearly not
every 16 year old is appropriate for camp, but the excellent ones will shine through their interviews.
With some sensitivity paid to the challenge of including teens in a much older volunteer group, high
school aged volunteers are a great asset to the program, and tend to grow up to be excellent
“lifers”!
Saying Thanks and Valuing Contributions
On average, a camp volunteer gives you over 200 hours of service per session, not counting any
work they may do in the off-season. There is no way to quantify the value of their contribution, or
of their ability to fundraise, to recruit and market your program. And yet, too often, as
administrators we find ourselves so engrossed in the day-to-day administration to stop and say
thank you. And so, with as much energy as you recruit volunteers, make giving thanks one of your
camp’s cultural values.
Gratitude can take so many forms, few of which cost money. There is no need to shower
volunteers with trinkets or honorifics that have very little practical purpose. Put your budget
monies to program use instead, and get creative. Throw a party during orientation, ensure that the
camp board of directors knows of outstanding contributions by individual volunteers, value time and
effort as much as money, be aware of the small gestures as well as the large ones. And while
there are times to make announcements and give public thanks, most volunteers are not in it for
public acknowledgement. A personal and private gesture on the spot never goes awry. Above all
else, remember that camp could get along quite nicely without you, but not without the volunteers!
Encouraging Leadership While Maintaining Control
Camps run by not for profit agencies will always operate on limited budgets, and thus all
contributions by volunteers are valuable, whether financial, programmatic or administrative. It is
also important to ensure that the volunteers’ voice is a strong one when doing long term strategic
planning. You will want to seek out volunteers with great leadership skills to sit on a board of
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directors or other oversight bodies to make sure that decision-making is in the camp’s best interest
and is well informed by the realities of the program.
There is a world of difference however in giving volunteers a strong voice, and giving them control
of the program. It is vital to ensure volunteers understand both the short and long term goals of
the program, that they have access to the “approved” information package in order to fund-raise or
recruit, and they know of policy or program change at the appropriate time. They need a forum in
which to raise questions, to make suggestions or voice discontent in a constructive fashion, and
they need to see responsive change.
One of the trickier balancing acts to maintain for a camp director is that of maintaining friendships
with volunteers while maintaining a barrier between agency politics and the operations and needs
of camp. Camp will always be a place of intense relationships, and it is no different for paid staff of
a program. However, for a volunteer camp is a place of magic and for camp staff, camp is a place
of business. In every place of business there are politics, challenges and a mix of victories and
disappointments. It is important for the smooth operation of camp that volunteers and campers are
not invited behind the magic administrative curtain, that they never know the Wizard of Oz is just a
man with a microphone and flash powder sitting behind a screen.
When Volunteers Don’t Work Out
There are hundreds of people who come to camp each year. Each brings a special skill or
characteristic that makes them integral to the whole. Some may not be great with the more clinical
aspects of the program, but have terrific camp skills (like sports or arts and crafts). It is clear then
how to best engage them. Others fare poorly with one age group, but are magic with another.
Often it is trial and error in finding the place at camp where a volunteer shines, and it is always
worth the time to move people around when they are unhappy or underperforming. No one wants
to come to camp and be a liability. And, in terms of volunteer retention, no director wants to put
people off by their experience of agency inflexibility.
However, from time to time, there are volunteers who just are not right for camp. I am not
speaking of those who very clearly break the rules and need to be sent home. In that case, the
outcome of sending people home or not having them back is crystal clear to all involved. I’m
talking about good people who even after some switches, just don’t fit. Hopefully before the time
comes to reject someone, you’ve had a reality checking discussion based on follow-up from
previous years. Often volunteers don’t need you to say no – they are unhappy and choose not to
return. When rejecting or dismissing people however, think about the ways in which their skills can
be used in some purposeful way in the organization. Hopefully, there is a way to salvage their
participation. If not, sadly, you lose a volunteer.
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5.
The Volunteer Application Process
Recruiting
Over the years, we’ve recruited in a number of ways: in trade newsletters; on college job boards,
through schools of social work, psychology or teacher’s colleges; within our camper population;
through church organizations; among our funders; and by word of mouth. It is this latter option
that seems to have been the backbone of the program.
We were very lucky to have been “adopted” as a cause by Draft, a large advertising agency with
offices in New York and Chicago. In addition to money, they gave their staff a week off work to
come to camp. Over ten years, they provided hundreds of staff, many of whom did their own
recruiting, bringing hundreds more excellent volunteers to camp. It is not melodramatic in the least
to say that camp quite literally would not have continued without Draft’s money or their people.
We also have volunteers who first came to camp as students (high school or college), and have
continued each summer. Most take the summer between high school and college off as campus
orientation and camp coincide, but we have watched them grow up, get jobs, get married, have
children, take time off, and then come back. Many of them have brought their friends, have started
Friends of Birch groups on campus, have fundraised within their schools, sororities/fraternities and
agencies, and have otherwise kept camp alive.
There is a tremendous racial diversity between our volunteers and our staff, one that desperately
needs to be bridged. While we see very few race-based issues arise at camp, we are always
acutely aware that camp exists as a honeymoon period – past 10 days however, the magic tends to
get muddied by the garbage of the real world. We have tried in the past to recruit specifically in
the African American and Latino communities, however have been unsuccessful for the most part.
I am sure that there are many reasons for this, as both communities have long traditions of selfhelp and compassion, but I remain convinced that having no diversity in the senior staff of camp
plays a large role.
It is also a truth borne of experience that far more women volunteer their time than men. While it
is an interesting fact, it is also relevant in recruiting for camp. Our campers live in largely female
dominated households. They live in the most high-risk neighborhoods with the highest ratio of
incarceration, of drug convictions, of crime in New York City. Our boys need to have strong male
role models who advocate and demonstrate the best of what the world can offer. A lack of males,
in addition to denying male role models, also makes staffing the cabins difficult, as female staff
cannot sleep in the open bunks with the boys.
The seemingly irrelevant fact that more gay than straight men volunteer becomes relevant when
you take into account the cultural disapproval of homosexuality in both the African American and
Latino community. Because camp isn’t about volunteer’s sexuality, it is not an issue the majority of
the time. However, after hour discussions of real life relationships and significant others do take
place, and sexual choices do become known by the parent camper group. Most campers (and I
refer here to the parents and the teens) are able to see volunteers as people who’ve gone out of
their way to help. They either become willfully blind to volunteer’s sexuality, or embrace the person
while abhorring the choice. As homosexuality and men having sex with other men “on the down
low” are such a loaded cultural issues in our camper communities, camp is a place where teens who
are questioning their own sexual identities can find strong and positive role models. I point it out
merely to demonstrate another of the cultural chasms that volunteers and campers must bridge
while at camp.
At the end of each summer, it is imperative to take stock of the areas of need in terms of staffing
and make a plan to address them for the following summer. In the eight years that I was director
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of the Birch Camp my annual list always included: people of color, Spanish speakers, social workers,
lifeguards and men.
Interviewing
As difficult as it is to define what makes an excellent volunteer, it is equally difficult to define
specifically the things that one is looking for in an interview. Clearly volunteer applicants should
demonstrate a level of responsibility, of relevant experience and be able to articulate why they want
to volunteer. So many other factors are intangible, those feelings you get about people and the
way they move through the world. For instance, someone who has gone to camp their whole life
and who has worked at both regular and special needs camps in the past may turn out to be an
adequate volunteer, while someone with absolutely no experience with kids or camp or the
particular special need may turn out to be excellent.
Whenever possible, volunteer interviews should be done in person. They should also be done,
when possible, by the person with the hands-on responsibility at camp (usually it would be the
camp director or program director). For example, by doing the volunteer interviews myself, I, as
director, felt far more confident about staffing levels and the interpersonal mix in the cabins and
with activities. I was also then personally responsible for the fallout both when things went well,
and when the train ran off the track (sometimes at high speed!). Using seasoned volunteers to do
interviews certainly saves the director a lot of time, but does not provide for consistency.
As so many of our volunteers come from around the country, and travel great distances at their
own expense to get to camp, telephone interviews are a necessary evil. There is no getting around
the fact that they are more difficult, as you don’t get to see volunteer’s reaction to questions, the
way they physically present themselves or otherwise react to you. Where it is possible, video
conference or technology like iChat will be very helpful with distance interviews.
It is hard to say no to people who want to give you a week of their time, who want to help.
However, not every person is going to be appropriate for camp and it is important to keep that in
mind while interviewing. And, while there are rigid rules about hiring staff, “hiring” volunteers is a
bit different. If camp will involve a high degree of physical activity and exertion, it is imperative
that volunteers be up for the reality of camp. If someone is within the identified age range for
camp but does not demonstrate the required level of maturity, it is not likely a good fit. The same
will be true for those who you feel may be too old or otherwise physically challenged to bear up to
the rigors of camp. If there no jobs in which they can realistically fit or there is no way to
physically accommodate them, you may need to say thank you but no.
In interviewing volunteers, pay attention to the little voice in your head. I interviewed a man a few
years ago. On paper, he was great: Latino, a language major, and involvement with a number of
agencies for kids with physical disabilities. At the interview he was good, but there was a hint of
grandiosity in what he was telling me – nothing I could firmly put my finger on, just a gut feeling.
However, I needed Spanish speakers, and I needed men. I checked his background references,
and got great reports on his abilities and experience. I got his medical form, which indicated a
psychiatric disorder but a doctor’s note confirmed that he was well controlled by medication. In the
orientation portion of camp, his behavior was a bit “off”. He asked a lot of questions, loved to be
the centre of attention, but again, not in an alarming way. However by day two with the campers,
he had suffered a complete psychotic break and had to be transported home. We discovered later
that he had gone off his meds a few weeks before camp.
Since that time, I learned to ask about issues, to probe with sensitivity, and when I learned of
mental illness, to talk about it in an upfront and normalized manner. This summer, one of our
veteran volunteers called a week before camp. I know she struggles with bi-polar disorder but is
phenomenal with the campers. She called to apologize that she couldn’t come to camp, that she
was not feeling stable, and camp was not a safe place for her right now. I don’t know if that
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conversation would have happened if I’d not learned the very hard way to pay attention to the little
voice in your head, and to follow up the questions it asked. However, I also know that this
volunteer will always find a home at camp when she feels healthy enough to be there, and feels
safe enough to be upfront about the issues she faces.
Reference Checking
While “hiring” volunteers is different than hiring staff, checking their references is not. You want to
know what others think of the applicant, their skills and limitations. You also want to know that
there are no criminal issues that impact on a volunteer’s appropriateness for camp. As above,
when you learn of information that raises flags, gather more information or ask follow-up questions.
Make sure you are following federal and state regulations for the use of volunteers, and check in
with the American Camping Association to see if they can help, or if they have suggestions.
Regardless of what your agency’s protocol may be, keep records both of those you hired, and those
you didn’t. This will allow for consistency into the future, whether you are there or not. Make sure
you clearly spell out your concerns, and that you have a paper (or electronic) trail of the same.
The Scourge of Paperwork
It is not enough that a volunteer wants to come to camp, is interviewed and found to be
appropriate. Before driving through the camp gate, a volunteer must sign a contract, various and
sundry releases, submit to a criminal background check and have a medical exam done.
Contracts can and should be very simple things, merely stating the volunteer’s intent to attend the
program for a set period of time, to comply with the rules of the program. Releases usually
address the issue of criminal background checks, consent for video and photographic materials, and
liability.
The medical exam is often a complicated part of the pre-camp preparation. The requirement is that
a volunteer go to a physician or nurse practitioner for a full exam, receive a TB test, and provide
camp with all manner of information about previous medical history, current medications and
conditions. Many volunteers do not have medical insurance, and getting a physical exam is a
financial hardship. It is imperative however to have this information on hand in case of emergency,
and so the director and medical director are aware of all potential medical issues, whether camper
of volunteer-based. If worse comes to worse, the camp physicians are usually able to complete the
required exams on those with no insurance or ability to pay, and a director must approach the issue
with both flexibility and firmness.
Follow-up and Evaluation
After camp each year, it is important to evaluate the staff as well as the program. As you’ll note in
the appendices, the direct supervisor of each volunteer provides feedback on various aspects of
each volunteer’s work at camp, and gives opinions as to whether the volunteer should be invited
back and in which capacity. This information is invaluable on many levels: it allows a director to
make reasonably informed staffing choices into the future, and it provides a tangible springboard
upon which to have discussions with those whose performance is inadequate.
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6.
Orientation and Staff Training
You have “hired” hundreds of volunteers, found a great site, developed a terrific program, recruited
amazing families, and made arrangements for terrific camp meals (and we all know by experience
that camp, like the army, runs on its full and content stomach). None of this will matter however
if you don’t have a staff that works together as a team, that understands the goals of the program,
or the needs of the campers. And so, orientation and staff training is the cotter pin that holds the
often times rickety and low tech machinery of the special needs camp process together.
Defining Goals
As in the general camp program, it is important to think about what you are trying to achieve, and
develop programs around these goals. Broadly speaking, every orientation or staff-training period
consists of:
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•
•
•
•
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Orienting staff to the site
Introducing staff and explaining roles
Learning together as a team
Establishing rules
Transmitting specific information about campers
Seeking out and exploiting specialty training or skills
Preparing the physical site.
However, for a special needs program, and with a group of volunteers, it is important to pass on
substantive and need-specific information, as well as to prepare staff for the realities of what they
may encounter during their time at camp.
Finally, in thinking about orientation, it is vital to set aside an adequate period of time in order to
achieve your goals, minimize the stress of the participants, and have fun.
The Birch Family Camp Orientation
In the early years of the Birch Camp, orientation was almost as long as the camp session itself. At
the time there was a lot of very specific training to accomplish: it was a time where campers were
dramatically ill, where grief was palpable and activity adaptation was a routine need. However, as
campers became increasingly healthy, and their needs changed, the type of training volunteers
required also changed.
Volunteers take time off work to come to camp, and we had to be careful not to squander it. We
also had a large cadre of long-term volunteers. While they understood the need for the entire staff
to gel (in order to combat the camp scourge of cliques), they very noisily objected to have to attend
the same training sessions year after year – “It’s my 7th summer Sandee….surely I don’t have to do
AIDS 101 AGAIN!!!”
Over the last five years, in response to budget cuts, we have reduced staff training by half. This
forced us to critically evaluate every program, to be very creative in the use of time and in finding
ways to combine program elements. For example, a big chunk of the first morning of orientation
consists of a scavenger hunt. The entire volunteer staff is split into teams that combine new and
returning staff. The activity combines a site tour, camp history, program activity space exploration,
introduction of site staff (kitchen, maintenance etc), and interpersonal fun. De-briefing the hunt as
a whole gives us the chance to underscore the elements of camp history, as well as to correct any
misinformation that may have arisen. It also traditionally culminates in a drag show, which, at
camp, is always a good way to end things!
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In the absence of having a lot of down time for staff to get to know one another, it is also crucial to
have something fun which allows every person to be introduced publicly. I call this “The Question”,
and it can be done over the lunch hour or in some other multi-purposed time frame. Last year, The
Question was “What was your first concert.” In turn, each person stood up, introduced themselves
and where they were from, and then the answered the question. The exercise allows the entire
volunteer community to see just how diverse they are, and to get a sense of each other’s
personality. And, for the record, we had one volunteer whose concert was the Beatles first concert
in America, another who had their inaugural (and seminal) experience at Woodstock, while others
had seen NSYNC or the Back Street Boys.
Given the average age of our volunteers and their diverse life experiences, we do without many of
the traditional camp orientation activities like role-playing scenarios they may encounter with
children. Instead, we do a large group session using returning staff and clinicians to help talk about
difficult situations that may arise. Our focus instead is on the specific needs our campers bring with
them to camp. We have a very spirited discussion of AIDS 101 and Universal Precautions, let by
our medical staff and volunteers who work in AIDS prevention. We provide a comfortable place for
volunteers to ask questions, and we talk about current treatments and their side effects. Our
doctors and returning staff discuss the realities of camper illness at camp, and we try to dispel the
specific fears new volunteers have about providing appropriate and adequate care.
Two of the most important programs at orientation, and which have been part of the curriculum
since the beginning are The Lives our Families Lead, and Grief and Loss (on the schedule it is called
‘When HIV Becomes Very, Very Real’).
The Lives our Families Lead
This program is lead by the Family Coordinator as well as volunteers who work in the HIV service
provision sector, medicine and law.
Thus, we aim to provide volunteers a 360º view of our
campers and again to underscore that HIV is merely one of the stressors in their lives. While the
Family Coordinator spends a lot of orientation providing group staff with specific information on
their individual campers, this session is a general talk about specific families and the range of issues
that confront them. For example, the Family Coordinator talks about the family’s HIV, poverty,
substance abuse, foster care, disability, and illiteracy history. A lawyer who volunteers can speak
about the emotional costs of the legal battle our families wage, whether with regard to
custody/access, foster care, or domestic violence. A case manager who volunteers can speak about
the labyrinthine bureaucracies families face in accessing services, public assistance, or foster care.
In the end, volunteers are better able to see our campers as people living three-dimensional lives
rather than merely as people with HIV.
Grief and Loss
Camp was born of the need to help people grieve – for deaths that had happened, for those that
were imminent and for the potential that would never be.
Even now, with miraculous
improvements in the treatments available, there is no cure and our campers get sick and die.
Camp remains a place where they can learn to grieve while at the same time continue to look
forward – a very difficult balancing act to achieve.
During orientation, it is vital to help volunteers understand that grief isn’t always about death, that
it is important to legitimize loss as much as death. In this, our campers are not the only ones who
face loss, face illness, face lost potential, face death. In terms of loss, we are indeed a community.
By encouraging volunteers to become very introspective about their own losses, we help them
empathize with our campers.
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In the past we have tried many activities to facilitate introspectiveness, but in the end, many struck
false notes. Of late, we have instead turned to an acting exercise geared to let actors connect with
their own genuine emotions. We ask the volunteers to sit (or lie) with their eyes closed. The
facilitator asks people to think of a time when they faced loss, be it death, disappointment,
diagnosis. “Remember where you were? Were you alone when you heard? Were you in public?
What was your first reaction? Did you want to be alone, or with someone else? Who was the first
person you told? What was their reaction? Was it the one you wanted? Did it bring comfort? Was
it annoying? How long did it take to start feeling yourself again? What helped you get there?”
This exercise can be both emotionally taxing and cathartic for volunteers – many of us bring our
own baggage to camp, and like campers, volunteers and staff benefit by having a framework of
safety to process our own emotions. There are always tears, and the exercise must be followed by
a quiet or reflective time. We have done a guided meditation afterward, which gives staff the time
and personal space to re-establish their emotional equilibrium.
Affirming a “Glittertastic” Camp Culture
Orientation sets the tone of the camp program you want to establish. Therefore it needs to be fun
and there must be glitter! With the exception of the two programs outlined above, there is no
activity that can’t be made fun. Endless group discussion, or talking head presentation will sap the
life out of any group so be creative in the way you transmit information, and ensure that there is
adequate “camp” at camp: fun, costume wearing and glitter!
The camp volunteer staff can be bathed in the camp culture by:
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the judicious telling of relevant stories (NOT war stories!!!),
valuing traditional and new ways of doing things,
encouraging new staff to introduce songs, skits, activities from other programs
discouraging the use of the phrase “that isn’t how we do it…”
remembering and naming campers and staff who have come before and left a mark on the
program and our hearts
preparing staff to be emotionally challenged and connected
celebrating the past without being mired in it.
In the End, It’s Back to the Beginning
The buses have just rolled out the camp gates, the volunteer staff stands around crying, and
everyone is ready to fall down from exhaustion. Clearly it is time for another program!
A prime goal of the orientation or staff-training program must be in bringing the volunteer
experience to an emotionally balanced and positive end. In the early years, there was an
immediate de-brief of the week, discussions of what worked, what didn’t, and what should be
changed. However, this rush to judgment denied staff and volunteers the chance to just be moved
by their experience, to squeeze in a few more moments of magic before returning to their “real”
lives.
Long experience has developed what I think is the perfect way to say goodbye to camp, and it is
based squarely in the framework of celebration!
Once volunteers have had a chance to cry, laugh and comfort one another, it is time for them to
accomplish the last task: pack and clean. After a pre-set interval of packing and cleaning, the
volunteer and staff community gathers in a big open space. Last minute housekeeping is taken
care of (return of keys, walkie-talkies, supplies, lost camper articles etc), the Camp Director takes
the floor to give thanks, to acknowledge individual and collective miracles, and to sum up the week
that was. Thereafter, we touch.
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Touch Someone Who
There are all manner of exercises that allow participants to acknowledge and affirm one another.
At the Birch Family Camp, we like what has come to be (cheekily) called “Inappropriate Touching.”
The group sits on the ground with space to walk between individuals. All close their eyes. One
quarter of the camp at a time are asked to get up, open their eyes, and touch someone who
•
•
•
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was all things to all people
showed old dogs new tricks
was there for you at the exact moment you needed them with exactly the right thing
you want to be when you grow up
We tend to have each group go through four iterations of the game, so that there have been 16
opportunities to touch.
Speaking from the personal experience of being a first time volunteer, some staff will worry that no
one will want to touch them. It never happens. Instead, as you sit with your eyes closed, listening
to the rustle of people moving carefully about, a hand touches your head, or someone leans down
for a gentle hug, or kisses your head. You have spent a week being impacted by people, and this
last exercise confirms that you have, in turn, impacted others. You learned and taught, you were
touched, and in turn, touched others. The knowledge that you do leave a mark in life, that your
contribution is valuable and acknowledged (be it small or large) is very powerful.
And then, and only then, it is time to go home.
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7.
The Program – Goal Setting for Campers
Step One: Define Your Goals
Obviously, if you’ve chosen to operate a summer camp program for families with HIV/AIDS or any
other special needs population, there will be traditional camp activities: every camp must have
swimming or water-based activities, a nature component, some form of arts and crafts, and a
games option. But while there are some easy answers to programming questions, you must start
and finish by asking yourself what the goals are for your program, and you must ensure that the
program you offer meet those goals on a number of levels. It is also imperative that you have a
mechanism by which to ensure that both the goals and the program evolve to stay relevant to your
client group.
From the outset, the Birch Family Camp was designed to meet clinical needs, both medical and
psychological. As you’ll have read, the families that first came to camp were ill, overwhelmed, poor
and isolated. But, a camp that dealt only with these heavy therapeutic issues would be a grim
place indeed, and while it might be a place of growth, it wouldn’t be a place of fun. And so, from
the outset we sought to combine the elements of fun and growth, and to encourage our families to
shine through both.
We have talked about the terrible burden of secrecy faced by our families, and it was imperative
that we make a decision whether to be a “disclosed” or “undisclosed” program – would we speak
openly about HIV or put protocols into place to keep a family’s secret until such time as they were
prepared to tell it. This decision to merely hold or to open Pandora’s box is either the selling point
for the program, or the wall that keeps people out, depending on where a family is in their own
disclosure journey.
From the beginning, we have been a non-disclosed camp. This means that we speak openly about
HIV with our adult campers and those teens who are aware of their family’s status, but that we do
not engage younger or undisclosed children in discussions about HIV. However, a major
therapeutic goal of the program is to encourage parents to begin the process of disclosure and
truth telling with their children.
Intersecting Programmatic Cycles
The Birch Camp operates on four programmatic cycles: children under 5, typically camp aged
children (6-13), teens (14-17) and adults. Staff for all program cycles are volunteer, whether
counselor, activity staff or clinician.
Tiny People (Infants – Age 5)
If you are going to cater to families, you have to cater to the whole family, and many times that
includes children of atypical camp age. After discussion with our medical, social work and
recreation staff, we decided that there was no reason that small children and even infants could not
be accommodated at camp, given adequate and qualified staffing! A big component of our
program then is for the tiniest of people, those under the age of 5, and their presence really does
enhance the camp community. On a bad or tough emotional day, there is nothing so soothing as
playing with small children, or listening to their squeals as they chase their counselors!
In order to cater to the distinct developmental needs of small children, the group is split between
infants/toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Both groups have their own cabin, their own schedule of
activities and their own counselors. At night however, the parents help put the kids down to bed
and sleep in the bunk with them. Counselors also sleep in the bunk, but should a child wake in the
night, their parent/usual caregiver is right there. These children are usually accompanied by their
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mother or other female caretaker, however every few years we have single fathers with small
children. In this case, there is a need for creative thinking on the issue of housing. We have also
accommodated families with a parent and their children, one of whom is also a mother. Thus,
while the mother of the infant or toddler is a teen camper, and spends her day with her peer group,
she sleeps in the bunk with the baby and has nighttime parental responsibilities.
A typical day for the tiny people involves the usual camp routine of swimming, arts and crafts,
games, and performing arts. In addition, there are age appropriate activities like story time, sing-along, general play time, nap time (the mid-day counselor favorite!). We staff this age group at a
ratio of at least 1:1, as these are busy wee creatures, and volunteers who spend most of their day
behind a desk are challenged to keep up with them! To the casual observer, it looks like a lot of
running, playing, singing silly songs, wearing silly hats, giving lots of hugs and cuddles to a
soundtrack of squeals and laughter, with the occasional tantrum thrown in to keep people on their
toes. But beyond that, there is a lot going on.
Therapeutically, our toddlers and pre-schoolers are getting a taste of independence and age
appropriate play. Many of them spend the majority of their time with their mother or their siblings,
spending little or no time with alternate caregivers or with a group of other small children. They
tend to be included in whatever recreational activities, music or television/video choices are made
by the rest of the family, who are far older. Thus, we see pre-schoolers who’ve been exposed to
graphic violence and sexuality, know explicit song lyrics and sexualized dance moves. Camp is a
place for them to learn songs and stories that are age appropriate and that help in language
development or build life skills. If they watch video, it is usually a cartoon, or a program designed
for educational purposes. Their day is given structure, with early morning wake up, three
scheduled meals, enforced naptime and age appropriate bedtimes. They are encouraged to be
physical, to walk, to run, to be out of a stroller; to be verbal, to use pacifiers only at naptime, or
nighttime; and to begin their journey toward independence. Social workers are able to identify
areas where extra help may be required, such as speech or occupational therapy, and then help
parents access this support in the city.
The learning opportunities are not only for the small children. While parents or other caregivers of
small children are involved in their own schedule of activities, they spend quite a lot of time with
the tiny people’s group. By watching others (counselors, social workers, other parents) care for
their children, parents are exposed to new parenting practices, behavior interventions and daily
routines. They are encouraged to experiment with new ways to deal with situations. They can
express their frustrations about the pressure of parenthood with social workers. And, they can
receive professional feedback from clinicians who have the opportunity to see the parent in action
over the course of a week, to understand the family dynamic first hand.
Typical Camp Age Kids (6-13)
When you are a kid, camp is Neverland: a magical place of fun, independence, challenge, new
friends and mischief out of the direct control and view of your parents. Kids infected and affected
by HIV/AIDS are no different. But the Birch Family Camp is different - it is for families with a
specific need. Before we could pull together the daily schedule of swimming, boating and arts and
crafts, it was essential to decide what therapeutic goals we had for the middle group of children,
those between 6-13.
Many of our children spend time either in their homes, or at school. Their neighborhoods are
dangerous places, and the chance to go to the park after school or to go to a friend’s house until
dinner just doesn’t exist. They’ve not spent much or any time outside the city, they’ve not gone
fishing, or slept in a tent. All too often they are being raised in single parent homes, home life
tends to be chaotic and our boys have relatively few solid male role models. The goal for camp
then is that it could be the place where campers were encouraged to socialize with other children
their own age, to engage in age appropriate activities, to experience new things, and to be apart
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from siblings and parents and experience impendence. Where a child does know their personal and
familial HIV status, and has questions, concerns or other issues, they can also find a myriad of
support people from whom to seek support.
A typical day for a child at Birch Camp is very structured, consistent and full, consisting of early
morning wake up, breakfast, four activity periods, lunch, rest period, three activity periods, dinner,
evening activity and bedtime. For children who may have never experienced structure, the first
few days can be a jolt to the system! Rather than staying up very late watching television or
playing video games, they are run off their feet, fed at routine intervals, expected to follow rules
and behave as part of a community. However, once the novelty of it all wears off, the combination
of consistency and adventure weaves a cocoon of safety around a child, giving them the
opportunity to become someone the parent or the child himself has never seen. One of the very
best moments at camp is watching a parent “see” their child, whether as a leader, an adventurer, a
performer, an artist, a dreamer, a loving friend.
Teenagers (Age 14-17)
Teenagers are a wonderful and wild breed, full of contradiction and straddling that fine line
between child and adulthood. For a teenager, camp can be both a blessing and a curse. Many of
our camp teens are used to setting the rules, bucking authority, running on the street. They also
bear a disproportionate amount of the parenting responsibilities for their siblings. Thus, being at
camp can be both a place of restriction and “childish” activities, as well as a place of respite and of
re-connection with the child they didn’t to be for very long.
It is also an interesting mix, with varying degrees of maturity and worldliness. A huge
programmatic challenge is in offering enough time mixing the sexes with very important gender
specific programming. Working with the needs of teens can be like walking a tightrope without a
net!
In the beginning, we had very few teenagers at camp. However, with the introduction of HAART
cocktails, and the resultant improvement in the health of families, our infected children were living,
and our affected teens were able to focus their energies on themselves rather than parenting in
place of their ill parents. In setting goals for this group, more than with any other, we really had to
pay attention to their evolving need.
We want to provide our teens:
• respite from being caregivers
• respite from being on guard, from living life defensively
• independence within a safe setting
• a place to give voice to dreams of a future, and information and interventions that could
make these dreams reality
• an opportunity to become leaders and agents of positive change
• a safe and de-sexualized environment
In the past five years, the needs of our teens have become increasingly important, as they are at
greatest risk for infection. Our girls are the demographic: women of color in their child-bearing
years, living in the inner city in poverty. And so, in addition to the traditional camp activities, we
infuse the program with self-esteem building activities, opportunities for self-expression, chances to
experiment with leadership (without it looking like parenting), frank discussions of sexual health
and proactive prevention (of disease and pregnancy).
This last aspect of the program can be risky, as some parents do not want their teens involved in
these types of discussions. We work with these parents, assure them that the discussions are led
by our physicians and social workers, and that it provides a safe outlet for the questions our teens
always have, as well as providing a chance to combat rumors about sexual health that always
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circulate around groups of teens. While other of the activities listed above are done in a mixed
group, the “sex talk” is always done in single gender groups, thus encouraging a higher degree of
engagement and discouraging the bravado and posturing that otherwise takes place. It also allows
for discussion of gender-specific topics, such as self-advocacy for girls and respect and
responsibility (especially within a cultural norm of the “baby daddy”) for boys.
As noted above, there is a wide range of maturity level in a group 14-17. Therefore, teen
counselors, clinical and medical staff adjust the discussion to reflect the reality of the group. If
there are campers who are absolutely forbidden to attend, or who are demonstrably less mature
than the rest of the group, alternate activities are provided.
For teens living with HIV, camp is a place where they can reach out and seek support from other
teens in the same situation. They can express their fears or frustrations about their health, or drug
side affects. They can ask medical questions and learn new or easier ways of taking medication
(many kids have learned to take pills rather than liquid medications while at camp).
Negotiating
the rocky seas of an adult sexual relationship is difficult in the age of HIV. Managing the
negotiation from the first moment of adolescent sexual awakening is inordinately stressful:
•
•
•
•
•
When do you tell a partner about your status?
What if no one has disclosed your status to you, but you’ve guessed what is going on?
How do you trust someone with information that is an absolute secret?
Do you deny yourself normal relationships because you are HIV positive?
What do you do if someone betrays your trust and exposes your secret?
At camp, kids can ask these questions of their peers, some of whom have had the particular
experience and can offer advice. Kids can see that they are not alone, and can strategize
responses within a group setting, and, in so doing, begin to weave the strands of a support net that
continues to be in place after camp.
While group-based activity take place in all age groups, and is meant to provide both a bit of
unstructured “family” time, for the teens the time is dual purposed. Certainly it is great to lie
around the cabin doing low-organization crafts, or listening to music or learning dance steps. But
this is the time where counselors really engage with teens in discussion of real life, of the obstacles
the teens find in their way. It is a time when they voice their joys and fears, and a time when they
really dream aloud. Our experience is that the volunteer counselor staff that work with the teens
are in it for the love of this crazy age group. Thus, they routinely engage with campers in the offseason, and over the years. They help them with work readiness, or getting jobs. They do what
they can to prepare or outfit a teen for college, and help provide support for campers who are away
from home in an absolutely foreign environment. And, when things in the lives of our campers go
wrong, they routinely reach out to their camp counselors for help.
Into the future, providing year round support and programming for teens is vitally important. It
should consist of group retreats as well as routine shorter get-togethers, and could offer both
recreational and educational programming around job-readiness, college preparation, leadership
and dispute resolution, financial awareness and planning/budgeting, nutrition and cooking, sexual
health and prevention, and self-advocacy.
Adults
When you think of camp, you think of small children at arts and crafts, or camping out, or passing
their deep-water swim test. But, as discussed in another part of this manual, camp for families
provides an inordinate number of therapeutic interventions for all members of a family who is
dealing with a life-altering issue, whether illness or grief, or disability. None of these things take
place in a vacuum and camp offers a sanctuary where all members of a family can find a way to
become a stronger individual and thus a strong family member.
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Parents can certainly get respite by sending their kids away to camp, leaving them with free time
and fewer responsibilities. Camp however offers the chance to be out of the city, in a quiet, green,
safe place; a chance to defer childcare responsibilities and spend time with other adults; an
opportunity to meet clinical issues head-on, and deal with them in a positive and professionally
supported way; and, the chance to have fun. I know that a lot of people might think the first few
positive attributes of camp seem fine, but that spending time at sports, arts and crafts, nature or
boating are not an adult version of fun. These people are wrong, as our parents quickly find out.
Many parents, especially those with small children, arrive at camp having never spent time away
from their children. For all sorts of very legitimate reasons, many are suspicious of leaving their
child, and many tell us that the child will never be able to cope without them. But camp is about
learning that mutual independence is at the heart of being a family, and parents are in as much
need of this lesson as children. Therefore, camp is a place where parents who are holding on too
tightly can learn to let go, to trust other caretakers and to take joy in watching their children find
their own path.
In programming for adult caregivers, you must understand the usual daily routine of your client
base, their very real need for rest, and balance that with your therapeutic goals. It is also good to
strike this balance and enforce it consistently from the start. Sprinkled throughout the attached
weekly schedule, there are a number of mandatory programs for caregivers: introductory meeting,
icebreakers, disclosure, and closure. There are also family programs in which parents are strongly
urged to participate. Finally there are routine camp activities in which parents are encouraged to
participate.
Disclosure
Disclosure is the therapeutic heart of the camp program for adults. It is a time for each parent or
caregiver to talk about where they are in the disclosure process: disclosing truths about HIV,
adoption, chemical dependence, incarceration or other crippling secrets that may play a role in
isolating the family. Secrecy on so many levels has been such a destructive and isolating factor in
our families’ lives. They destabilize relationships between family members, and sudden and
unplanned revelations of the truth often jeopardize any chance of a family growing together.
Gathering the adult caregivers together to talk about their personal journey toward disclosure
allows the Family Coordinator and the clinicians to begin to support change, to help parents
demonstrate trust within their own family and to assist in the development of a peer support
network.
The timing of this meeting is very important: it is the most important part of the adult program,
but it is also the most intimate and emotionally distressing. Thus, there is programmatic tension
between wanting to position it as the first order of business as little of substance takes place before
it, and understanding that campers need time to know one another and the staff before trusting
them their personal Pandora’s box. Ideally, this meeting should be held on the third camp day,
after transition issues fade, parents have had a chance to watch their children have fun, and to
experience it themselves. It should also be held in the morning to mitigate against mid-day torpor,
and all campers must attend. It must be a closed meeting, open only to adult campers, their direct
counselor staff, the relevant clinicians, the Camp Director and the Family Coordinator who acts as
facilitator. Parents must have confidence that the camp staff takes their privacy seriously, and that
their children or other strangers will not inadvertently wander into the meeting.
Many things flow from this intense few hours:
•
Many parents will have voiced long held secrets, fears and emotions and find their
emotional burden considerably lightened
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•
•
•
•
•
Camp staff and campers alike will provide comfort and support for those who face
significant emotional distress
Parents who have not disclosed can learn from those who have, while those who have are
able to act as mentors
The adult group is able to bond at a very deep level over secrets told and secrets shared
Staff learn information or gain insight into families that is incredibly helpful in making sense
of behavior or in determining the most appropriate clinical interventions for all family
members
Some parents decide, after listening to the collective, that camp is the time and place to
begin the disclosure process with their children.
Much of the clinical work that is pursued at camp, or pursued later in the off-season in the city is a
direct result of this meeting.
If a parent decides to disclose the family’s HIV status to a child while at camp, he or she is
supported in the decision and the task by the Family Coordinator, and whatever counselors or
clinicians they need. By the same token, the children also receive support from their own
counselors and clinicians, who will attend the actual disclosure meeting if so desired by the parent.
By providing this envelope of support to both parents and children, we again demonstrate to the
family that there is a safety net that will keep them safe. As the week moves forward, the relevant
staff will keep each other aware of significant issues should they arise. And, either through the
course of the week, or certainly after camp, the Family Coordinator will ensure that this very
significant clinical step forward is transmitted back to the referral case worker.
Closure
Four or five buses arrive at camp and disgorge about a 125 people. One third of them will be new,
isolated, unsure, and wondering if they should have just stayed home. Two thirds will have been
singing camp songs on the bus, and will leap off the bus into the waiting arms of volunteers. Old
relationships will be made deeper, and new relationships will have been kindled between strangers.
And then, suddenly, those same buses will be waiting in the parking lot.
As camp comes to an end, it is essential to debrief what has taken place, to celebrate the steps
forward taken by every camper, to acknowledge the depth of the bonds created between people, to
prepare new campers for the emotions they may have upon their return home, and to make plans
into the future. And so, on the last day the entire adult group, their counselors and clinicians, the
Family Coordinator and Camp Director meet again. Our tradition is to have everyone in the group
re-introduce themselves, say where they live, and where they get care (it is shocking that virtual
neighbors meet for the first time at camp!). This helps to highlight to campers how easy it is to
keep in touch at home, whether by telephone, by personal get-togethers or seeing each other at
various clinic programs. We then ask people to talk about what they are taking home with them.
This usually precipitates a deluge of laughter about the fun things people are taking home (or
leaving behind), and then in the blink of an eye, it becomes poignant in its intimacy. There are
statements of loss and hope, of empowerment and personal achievement, and finally, of love.
Returning parents help new parents understand what they should expect upon their arrival home,
and camp staff help all parents put their experiences into a growth framework.
The Fun
As stated at the outset, a camp program that limits itself to dealing with therapeutic issues is sure
to be a grim place! And just like their children, adults just want to have fun, and camp is just the
place to make it happen!
Clearly, one needs to adapt traditional camp activities to meet the needs of differing groups of
campers. Thus, programming for adults may require a bit of flexibility and imagination, but very
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simple programs can be tremendously successful! Arts and crafts can offer more advanced projects
to those who want to return to the arts and crafts area after evening programs are over. In
addition to allowing for more creative time, late night activities give adults a social outlet they don’t
always get. Given the relative inability for many of our adults to participate in a robust nature
program of hiking and camping, emphasis can be put on fishing, cooking over a campfire, and sleep
outs for those who are willing to brave the dark! Bilingual Bingo and Karaoke are also very popular
late night dining hall adult programs that provide a structured yet fun social outlet, and there is
nothing so fun as watching the parents take over the costume closet and parade around camp in
sequined, fringed and feathered finery!
The Smoking Tree
I am loath to talk about smoking as a program experience, however I cannot fail to see the
therapeutic usefulness that it provides!
At camp, only adult campers are allowed to smoke (i.e. no teens), and then only in one spot, which
has come to be known as The Smoking Tree, despite the fact there is no longer a tree marking the
spot. So many of our parents are smokers, and this place is always the first place to track down a
parent. During and after particularly emotional programs or events, the smoking tree is a crowded
place, and it is the place where informal peer-based debriefing takes place. Camp lore has it that if
you want to know what is really going on at camp, or with our families, you must take up smoking!
In addition to parent campers socializing and giving each other emotional support at the Smoking
Tree, it is also a place where campers and volunteers come together and build relationships. It is a
terrific place to break down barriers between camper/staff, white/black/brown, rich/poor and to
begin to see people as individuals who have as many similarities and common interests as
differences.
Family Activities
One of the therapeutic goals of camp is to help families become stronger and more cohesive units,
providing support for each other. And yet the first thing we do at camp is separate the family! To
the outside eye, it seems a bit oxymoronic!
It has always been our belief that strong families are made up of strong individuals, and that
learning how to be part of a community needs to happen on both an individual and familial basis.
Thus, children are given the chance to spend time with peers and to thrive in their own rights.
Older siblings are relieved of the childcare responsibilities with which they’ve often been burdened,
and are able instead to allow someone to take care of them. Adults are given a chance to spend
time in the company of other adults, a commodity that is priceless to people without the
wherewithal to purchase trustworthy childcare, especially those with small children.
However, scattered through the weekly schedule are special activity periods that bring families
together:
•
The Family Games program, which has teams of families working together in either
modified camp staples like Color War or Olympics, or our most recent incarnation
“Family Reality Games”, a take off of the various reality shows on television. Nothing
brings a family closer together than dressing up for a catwalk appearance on Camp’s
Next Top Model, or watching parent’s participate in the blindfolded worm eating in
Family Fear Factor! There really is no competition in these games, and whatever
prizes are up for grabs are evenly distributed throughout the camp family, but it is an
afternoon of great fun.
•
Family Voice Your Choice gives families a chance to choose an activity that the whole
family will do together for a period. Choices are usually variations of popular camp
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programs, like boating, fishing, arts and crafts, slip and slide, or cooking over a
campfire. There is challenge in this program, as it is hard to accommodate every
family member’s first choice, and thus the family must negotiate their choice. It is
also challenging if parents decide to opt out, or are ill, leaving their children without
direction and feeling abandoned.
However, it provides interesting learning
opportunities.
•
Family Photos are taken as part of the photography program during the Country Fair.
Each family is given the chance to dress up and have a picture taken by one of the
camp photographers (many of whom are professional and award winning). The photo
staff is excellent at making sure they get a picture of every family, whether they have
to do it in their own break time. At the end of the week, each family is given a copy
of the photo to take home as a reminder of camp, and a good joint experience.
In addition to the activities specifically targeted to bring families together, the site itself facilitates
the growth of independent joint growth. Given its small size (as noted in the Site section), family
members see one another all day long. Three times a day the entire camp meets together for
“Flagpole”, where the entire camp gathers in a large circle, sing camp songs, listens to
announcements, celebrates contest winners, watches “commercials” for upcoming activities, and
takes a quiet collective moment to give thanks.
A hallmark of the chaotic rush signaling the
beginning of flagpole is the cross-circle traffic of children visiting parents and siblings, telling stories
of their day or proudly displaying artwork, or unidentified camp adventure scrapes and bruises!
Parents see children at every meal, as the camp family eats together in the dining hall, and there is
a joint evening activity each night. Parents are also kept up to date with their child’s progress by
the child’s counselors, who seek them out for advice, or to share good news.
How Illness Fits Into the Day
In the early years of camp, the program was designed specifically around physical illness. It was
always a precarious balance between participation in activities and getting the rest required to
maintain physical well-being. The campers were very ill, their drug regimes were onerous, timeconsuming and side effects were almost as debilitating as the illness itself. The camp program and
staffing levels were developed in order to accommodate frequent breaks, downtime and minimal
participation.
However, with the advent of HAART cocktails and the dramatically improved health they brought to
our campers, the program was geared to increase activity.
At this point, most HIV medications are taken before meals, first thing in the morning and/or before
bedtime. At those times, the infirmary is the busiest place at camp, with each physician or nurse
dispensing medications to the camper’s on their caseload. Through the course of the day however,
counselors are on the lookout for the children’s health, they ensure that children who require extra
rest get it, and they deal with acute illness as needed.
Adult campers have always monitored their own health, and taken rest as they require it. This can
be a troublesome area, as we believe adults come to camp to be involved in program, and they feel
that they’ve come to camp to get a rest. One constant at camp is the daily negotiation between
these two positions! However, as a camp staff, we must always remember that our adult campers
take drugs that our children generally don’t (anti-depressant and anti-anxiety mediation) and that a
side effect is drowsiness. At home, they are used to taking rest when they need it, and being at
camp is both a change and a reason to increase the need for these drugs. Usually being both
sensitive to their need, aware of their medical condition and the types of medication they take, and
open about program goals is helpful in getting the adults involved in the program.
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Commemorative
During staff training, we reflect back on where we’ve come from in order to better map out where
we are going. It also helps us to ensure that the program reflects our campers’ current needs and
is relevant to their lives. The one program that will always remind us of our past, our present and
our future is Commemorative.
One evening each session, we gather to remember those we’ve lost, to join together as a group in
our grief and need, seeking solace. In some years, the service has been a complicated and scripted
production, while in other years is has been a very simple affair with a fluid structure. However,
whether simple or complex, it affords us the chance to remember that HIV is still infecting our
community, that there is no cure for AIDS and that we’ve not forgotten those who spent such
special time in our company and who left imprints on our hearts.
Given camp’s non-disclosed status, we must be sensitive to the scheduling of this program, as it
raises many questions for children who don’t know why their family comes to camp. We also allow
parents to make the choice of whether their children come to Commemorative: some see it as a
family activity, while others don’t want their children anywhere nearby. In the last number of
years, we’ve held the program at night, after the children’s bedtime. In addition to providing a
child-free time frame, the darkness tends to envelop participants in a shroud of safety giving them
the courage to speak from their hearts.
This program invites a time of tremendous vulnerability for campers and staff alike. As such, it is
strictly a family affair – it is not a time for visitors, and it is never a program to be leveraged for
fundraising purposes. If you are considering holding such a program, it is important to have a
program facilitator who is comfortable with considerable displays of grief, who understands the
healing power of silence and contemplation, and who can move a program forward in a quiet way.
It is also essential to schedule this kind of program in the latter part of the camp session, so
campers have had time to coalesce as a community, and have been part of other emotionally
charged group sessions (like Disclosure).
How Trust Changes a Camper
One thing you can’t put on a schedule, but which suffuses every moment of every activity at camp,
is learning to trust and feel secure. Chaos is either a daily reality or the wolf at the door for almost
all camp families. It comes in the form of chemical dependence, poverty, crime and incarceration,
foster care, dealing with multiple bureaucracies within the “system”, shattered family structures,
violence and abuse. And it takes a very heavy toll.
But, at camp, the rules don’t change, the structure is rigid but the fun is fluid, and safety is a
tangible commodity. These three elements serve to create a web of support for a camper, allowing
them to let down their guard (or their street face) and to begin to trust other children and their
counselors, the camp doctors and/or social workers. With their guard down, they can stop looking
over their shoulder and look ahead to the future, to give a voice to their dreams. They can tell the
truth about situations, admit fear, and seek help.
Truth telling and trusting sometimes comes with a reward, in that campers are able to let out
terrible secrets to people who can help them, or provide information or otherwise turn the situation
from bad to good. It can also come with a downside, as it could result in the need to bring
authorities into the family’s world. In fact, one of the most common tenants for camp families is
keeping people “out of my business.” But at camp, we are mandatory reporters of suspected
abuse, and we require that families sign consent forms giving us the ability to speak with treating
physicians and social workers. Thus, should a child (or adult) divulge abuse or neglect, we do
report the matter to the appropriate authorities, as well as to the referring social workers. But, in
so doing, we work with the family at camp and inform the referring agency so they know of the
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process they face, our concerns and our hopes. And, while having to take the step of making a
report is always going to be stressful for everyone concerned, it can be the first step in making
things better for the entire family.
Many times the net result of introducing trust into campers’ lives is not apparent until the following
year. Families have got on the bus back to the city at the end of camp with the same scowl and
defensive behaviors they wore on their arrival. Usually the staff rolls their eyes and has to remind
one another that for every family that leaves camp unmoved, hundreds more have left forever
changed. And then it comes time for the mid-year reunion, or the application process for the
upcoming summer. The surly family or camper is the first to arrive or to return paperwork. The bus
pulls into camp and they virtually fly off the bus to give and receive hugs from the volunteers and
staff and other families. They become advocates for the program, they take leadership roles with
other more isolated campers and otherwise are transformed.
No, you can’t schedule or program around trust, but with every consistency you build into your
program, you lay a brick in the foundation that supports it.
Year-Round Programming
So you’ve built a community, began the long journey toward trust and connectivity, and had a lot of
laughter along the way. And just when you get the train rolling on the track, it is time to pack
people up and send them home! This is an immutable law of summer camp – what to the outside
world has been a short week is a lifetime of magic inside the camp gate. But does it have to end
until next summer? Absolutely not!!
Depending on your budget abilities, all manner of year round programs can be offered, especially
with the use of technology:
•
Advisory Group Meetings
o In order to better tweak the program and to keep your finger on the pulse of what
your target group needs from the program, it is important to seek input from staff
and campers, and to use them to gather information directly from program
participants. This also helps in the program being “owned” by constituents.
•
Reunions
o We hold a fall picnic in Central Park for anyone who ever came to camp, with
invitations going to all camp and camp staff alumni. It is a low organization and
low cost program, in that families bring their own food, and we have a chance to
visit, re-connect with old friends and play with children.
o Our mid-year reunion is for those who just attended camp. It is a place for fun, as
well as the kick-off to the application process for the up-coming summer. It is a
more structured program and involves a meal, thus also incurring costs.
o Many informal get-togethers take place throughout the year, with volunteers
organizing programs for their own campers. Volunteers themselves bear the costs
of the same, and parents determine whether their children are allowed to go out in
the care of volunteers.
•
Routine Telephone Contact
o Through the year, the Family Coordinator is in touch with families, either to followup on specific clinical issues that arose at camp, or to merely keep tabs on families
and offer whatever help they may require.
o Additionally, other camp staff are in touch with families for various administrative
matters.
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o
Where information about a camp family comes to light, whether in direct or indirect
contact, we follow up. For example, we often hear about campers’ illness or
hospitalization through other campers.
•
Newsletters and electronic updates
o Using a quarterly newsletter, you can keep campers up to date with programs or
application requirements, while reinforcing the sense of a network that was
introduced at camp. It is also an outlet for campers’ creative projects and an
excellent way to share really good news that campers’ may have.
o Having a camp web page is a great idea, allowing campers to chat on line to one
another, and with staff.
•
Weekend or holiday retreats
o A retreat is a great way to provide a mini-camp format, especially to teens, to work
on specific issues (as described above in the section on teen programming).
•
Respite
o It is easy to gather a group of volunteers to provide occasional days of respite for
parents. In this way, parents are able to drop off their children with people they
trust, and have a day to themselves.
•
Holiday Help
o Families find the holiday season very stressful, with little money available to buy
presents. Many are involved with clinics who hold parties and children get gifts
from Santa, however that is not the same as a parent providing gifts under the
tree. We work with volunteers to hold toy drives in their work places, and we host
“shopping” days at the office. This gives a parent the chance to come in, pick out
appropriate gifts, and provide Christmas to a child.
Obviously, this is a random sample of the types of year round programs that could be offered with
a relatively small budget. With more resources, and working collaboratively with referring agencies
and community organizations and a lot of imagination, the sky really is the limit for what you could
offer.
A Word of Programmatic Caution
There are all manner of tremendously generous people who want desperately to give something
that will make a difference to people facing adversity. In facilitating these wonderful donations of
time, materials, and money, think how they mesh with your program goals. As an example, I will
describe two of our programs and contrast them with program offers implemented in other places.
Basketball is a huge influence in the lives of our campers. If given the opportunity, many of our
campers would spend the whole day shooting hoops, leaving their counselors gasping for breath!
Many have vague dreams of playing in the NBA or WNBA, and think that playing sports is the key to
the good life. Kevin Hamilton is a former Boston Celtic who now runs basketball programs for kids.
His focus is on education as the key to the good life and he uses his personal story as the
cautionary tale. He made it to the big league, and in his first very promising season, he blew out
his knee. In a second, his professional basketball career was over. Luckily, he had worked just as
hard on his academics as his sport, and was able to make an excellent living in the business world,
a living that allowed him to engage in his two passions: basketball and working with kids. Kevin
comes to camp and runs an excellent basketball clinic that includes as many kids and adults as
possible. He gives out lots of great premiums (shoes, jerseys, shorts, sports bags) for those who
win skills based contests, and as many great life lessons. The clinic ties up a full morning, which in
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a short program cycle is a huge amount of time, and it is worth every single second. It totally
matches our program goals, and enriches our campers’ lives in a meaningful way.
The basketball clinic is not a photo opportunity for a celebrity. It does not shower our campers
with a plethora of free but meaningless “swag.” It focuses on getting kids up on the court and
actually playing, rather than watching others play.
This notion of making programs count on a personal level extends to our Country Fair. This allcamp evening program is a perennial favorite, with each group responsible for a booth. Using only
what we have on site, this is a very low tech program that focuses on campers interacting with
each other, and having simple fun. Booths may include the tattoo parlor, send-a-kiss or singing
telegrams, pudding eating contests, face painting, fish pond and the over-subscribed wedding
booth. For one night, campers play games, eat candy, dance, dress up, conspire to get married or
play matchmaker for their counselors. There is lots of laughter, and it is hard to enforce bedtimes.
Each booth is designed and manned by counselors and campers, prizes include key chains, pencils,
bubbles, and other assorted cheap and very disposable trinkets. Set up and break down takes
about 40 minutes, and the total cost of the event is under $100.
Our lives are increasingly complicated by technology, and our kids are constantly tempted to believe
that it needs to be fancier, faster, more expensive and flashier in order to be worthwhile. Many
camps fall prey to the notion that you need to go completely over the top to produce a quality
program. I would submit that our campers have as much if not more fun finding gummie worms in
chocolate pudding, or seeing how many pipe cleaner wedding rings they can amass as a camper
who participates in elaborate events, receives unending flashy prizes and has had no part in any
preparation. It is camp. Camp is simple.
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8.
The Site
The Basics
What do you remember about camp? What made it, the camp itself, evocative or special? The
lake? The pool? The lumpy beds? The Rec Hall? You can have the best program possible, with a
top-notch staff and extraordinary families, but it will be the site that will make or break the
experience for people. And, with 19 years of experience and time spent in six different sites, we
have seen it all!
For the Birch Camp, with our client base of families living with HIV, the needs are very specific.
Bunks
Children are rarely in their cabins at camp, and as such, many camps don’t put a lot of money or
effort into making cabins more than utilitarian. Most cabins have bunk beds and areas for basic
storage, but may rely on communal bath/shower houses spread throughout the cabin lines. At a
family camp, and a family camp for special needs, you need more.
The challenge of having parents at camp is that they require a little more in the way of creature
comfort. For many, the trip to camp may be the first time they’ve left the city. Many come with
fear of the dark, of nature, of bugs or bats or of the quiet, or the crickets. Add to this transition
and dislocation issues, being separated from their children (some for the first time), and communal
living with strangers, and you’ve got a wonderful groundwork laid for potential trouble! One way to
mitigate trouble is to ensure that the cabins are clean and bright, warm or cool depending on the
weather, that they are within walking (or shouting) distance of someone, and that there are
adequate in-cabin shower and toilet facilities.
The need for in-cabin toilet facilities is also a heath issue: the most common side effect of antiretroviral drugs is bowel disturbance and nausea. Both demand a level of self-sufficiency and
privacy, neither of which a communal bathhouse some distance away from a cabin afford. If you
want to make families comfortable at camp, it must be in both health and sickness.
Playgrounds Or Activities For Younger Kids
Camp is a place for swimming and boating and arts and crafts. It is not usually a place for
playground equipment, swing sets, slide or climbing apparatuses. With a family camp program
however, you have a lot of children under the age of 5, for whom the traditional camp activities
hold little if any value. We were exceedingly lucky in one of our sites (where we spend 11
summers) to have three playground areas. One was located between the infirmary and the smaller
children’s cabin, which was serendipity! Early in the morning, when small children are up and
active, there was a place to go that didn’t disturb anyone else. While children waited to take meds
or be seen by the medical staff, there was a place to wait that was fun, making the infirmary even
more of an adventure. The other two playgrounds were located close by the dining hall, ensuring
that small children could be corralled until it was time to eat, or between meals and activity
program times.
Must to our dismay, we realized how lucky we’d been only after the site closed, and we began
looking for new sites. However, if you have small children, you do need to consider their special
needs – it is a long, long day for their counselors if the site isn’t small child friendly. If there isn’t
playground equipment, you may need to think creatively, map out spaces for children’s play toys
that can be theirs alone, purchase portable play equipment (modular plastic units like Little Tykes),
or speak with the site staff to see if they’d be interested in a capital expenditure of permanent play
areas.
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Swimming
In the early years, when treatment options were slim and our campers were so incredibly immune
compromised, it was an absolute necessity that a site had a chlorinated pool – the chance that
campers would pick up cryptospiridium or other bugs from lake water was too great. However, as
treatments strengthened camper’s immune systems, we were able to consider lake swimming. At
this point, we ensure that the lake water is tested regularly and we monitor campers for symptoms
(diarrhea, fevers, vomiting) of water borne parasites.
The other issue to consider when determining the policy for swimming is the safety of the site, lake
or pool based. Who supplies the lifeguards (you or the site) and what is the basic level of
certification required? Are campers and staff swim tested as part of their intake and is there a way
in which deep and shallow water swimmers are differentiated? What is the standard of the site for
swimming (i.e. buddy system when at the pool/lake; swimming and boating at the same or
different times; do lifeguards patrol the lake while boating is going on; is the waterfront area locked
while not in use etc)?
Accessibility
When we were looking at new sites, I made it clear that we needed a site that was accessible, at
least in most of the major buildings and some of the bunks. I discovered that the word accessible
means many things to many people. Isn’t just one small stair accessible? If a person can be lifted
into the building isn’t that accessible? Well, can’t they shower and go to the washroom in another
building if the bunk’s bathrooms are too small for a wheelchair?
Obviously the answer to all those questions is no. Accessible means that someone in a wheelchair
or with other ambulatory issues is able to enter and use the facility independently. Sometimes it is
not important that the whole site be accessible, but that most buildings are, and at the very least
that there are bunk and toilet/shower facilities are available. Speak to someone who uses a chair
or walker, and find out specifically what they need in order to be independent, and don’t assume
you know or that places can easily be “ramped” or that people will be comfortable being carried up
stairs.
Infirmary
At the Birch Family Camp, the decision was made early on that the physicians and nurses would be
responsible for dispensing the daily medications of all children, but that adults would be self-reliant
for their medications (unless of course it were a treatment that required assistance). The medical
staff would also be responsible for dealing with acute care situations, and emergencies. With the
sheer volume of people that daily medication routines of a camp for medical special needs, there
needed to be a traffic control system put in place.
We determined that during the times before meals and bedtimes, non-emergent issues would have
to wait. Each doctor or nurse had their own case load and provided primary care throughout the
week. Counselors were part of the program, ensuring they were at the infirmary on time, and
played outside or sat out of the way until their turn. There was one door designated for children,
while a back door was designated for adults and staff who would find their own meds on the shelf
and self-medicate.
Any building can be transformed into an infirmary – we’ve used the camp infirmary as well as bunks
and office space. However there are some things that are a necessity for a family camp: a defined
space for parents (adults and staff) to safely and privately keep their medications, preferably two
washrooms, a space for a sick room, as well as for an overnight room for the on-call medical staff
(we house our entire medical staff in the infirmary), two refrigerators for medications as well as for
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foods that help people take medication, and two entrances in order to manage the increased traffic
pattern in busy times. Obviously, for any camp infirmary, there must be a space for examinations.
Local Healthcare
While we begin each year with the plan to deal with as many health care issues as possible at the
infirmary, there are things that require a trip to the local hospital: fractures, significant or acute
illness, acute asthma, untreated or significant mental illness. Thus the first step of getting ready for
the health care needs of campers each season is to reach out to the local EMS, hospital emergency
department and pharmacy. It is helpful to them to know that we are in the area, that we have
special needs, and that patients will be coming to hospital after receiving treatment or assessment
by on-site physicians, and in the company of same.
As a sidebar, we also like to ask local EMS to enter camp, when they are called, without sirens and
lights. Our families are used to recurrent illness and emergency rooms – the sound and sight of a
full court 911 response rattles the nerves of every child and parent at camp, wondering if the sick
one is their child or parent. If the EMS is made aware that the patient is being attended on site by a
full medical team, they will work with you.
HIV/AIDS has been around a long time, and hospital emergency departments see a lot of things.
That being said, we have discovered much to our dismay, that not all emergency departments or
pharmacies are as sensitive to the needs of HIV patients. By giving them advance warning of our
presence and the likely reasons for our visits, and by sending a member of our medical staff with all
campers going to hospital, we hope to provide them a better chance of being treated well. And,
while local pharmacies may not have an ongoing routine need to stock the expensive HIV
medications, advance warning gives them a chance to either stock what they can or to make
arrangements with drug reps for speedy delivery.
Each campsite will have a local health department contact, and rules for inspection or certification
from the same. It is very important to learn what local requirements are early in the season, thus
giving you time to gather the requisite paperwork, or to address any shortcomings from an
inspection.
Distance to NYC and Shopping
New York State is in lucky in that there are a myriad of camp sites in the tri-state area from which
to choose when looking at properties. Many are in the Poconos of Upper Pennsylvania or the
Catskills in southwestern New York. From New York City, they are literally hours away by bus.
From any major center, they may be at least an hour. Thus, there seem to be three considerations
that we examined when looking at sites:
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Travel costs – long bus trips require coach buses with bathroom facilities and a meal
provided. Shorter trips of less than 2 hours can be done with a school bus, small snack and
a roadside bathroom break.
Dealing with Illness – should a camper become ill, and require longer term
hospitalization, they will either be kept at a hospital hours away from their family and
doctors, or they will need to be transported by ambulance back to New York. In any event,
as no child can remain at camp for more than a short period without a parent/caregiver, we
would need to transport the child home (most of our families do not have the wherewithal
to have a child picked up from camp, especially one far away). Depending on where in the
city the family live, that is a potentially a 10 hour return trip.
Retail Opportunities – camp will require trips to a store. Even with careful planning,
multi-purpose stores like Wal-Mart and pharmacies are invaluable and you must ensure that
one is within a reasonable distance to camp.
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Food
We all know that one of the givens of summer camp is that the food will be…well… camp food.
This sobriquet however can come to define every bad thing about the program – we all know that if
people are well fed, they can deal with almost anything else. If they are hungry or disappointed
with food, they will be more inclined to complain about everything.
In 19 years, we’ve seen almost everything in the dining hall and kitchen and have learned some
hard lessons.
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Think about your client base when menu planning
Our families are primarily urban African American and Hispanic, while our volunteer staff can be
defined in large part as urban white and middle class. Finding a menu that addresses everyone’s
tastes is difficult, and for years we seemed to cater to the needs of the person planning the menu
and buying the food. I mean….who serves stuffed peppers at camp??? Once we figured out that
we could vary up the menu, and added such staples as chicken rice and beans, or fried chicken and
macaroni and cheese to the menu, our campers became far happier and their feedback on the food
became far more positive. By offering something for everyone at some point in the week, you
make the camp more of a home.
It is important to canvas campers as to their likes, and to hear from parents what kinds of food
their children will eat – while you can’t serve chicken nuggets every meal, it is good to know other
dinnertime tricks and treats.
It is likely that the camper or staff contingent will include a number of vegetarians. Our experience
was that people at the vegetarian option when they didn’t like the main meal, leaving veggies
without food. At this point we have a policy that only vegetarians may get food from the specialty
trays, and our kitchen staff does a check in advance so knows who should be served.
Pork is also a troublesome food as so many refuse to eat it for all manner of reasons. We have
chosen to have a pork free menu to avoid any issues.
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Have experienced cook staff
We have used volunteers, professional caterers, longtime camp cooks, and random kitchen staff.
Each has had their charm, but it is the pitfalls of some that should be avoided.
Of the places that you shouldn’t look to bargain shop, it is with the kitchen/cook staff. Ideally, they
should come as part of the site package, giving you peace of mind that they know the kitchen well,
they have ownership and pride of their space, and they work together as a team. When you go
into the kitchen in your site visit, it should be clean and bright, and the equipment should look well
maintained.
An experienced staff will also want to know about food allergies or other dietary needs of your
campers and staff. They will be able to provide alternatives to people, or to order/store specialty
foods that people may need. They will also be well trained in emergency procedures, such as
choking and anaphylaxis.
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Think about serving in advance and have a dining hall plan
There are many ways to serve food at camp, but it is important to have had this discussion with the
kitchen staff in advance. They may have a preference, and usually it is the process that creates the
least amount of chaos and food waste. Listen to their experience and be open to change.
Generally speaking, camp kitchens are run on a shoestring, and they make the most with the
fewest number of staff. By insisting on a serving plan that they don’t know or don’t like, your
service will be slower, and likely the food will be cold by the time it is served to each table.
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The same is true for clean up – make sure you discuss the way in which the dining hall needs to be
cleaned (from dishes and table tops to floors and bathrooms). Do you recycle? What foods can
come back to the kitchen and which must be thrown out? Where does liquid waste go? Who
makes sure there is toilet paper in the bathroom, or cleans up if someone gets sick?
The dining hall is like the heart of camp – if it runs efficiently, and if its staff is happy, it sets the
tone for almost everything else.
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You get what you pay for – when is a bargain not a bargain?
There are many people who want to offer up discounts or donations to not for profit camps, all of
which is wonderful. However, there are times when a deal is too good to be true, or does not
benefit the target audience.
As an example, we were offered a chance to have our food and kitchen staff bills largely eliminated
if we served a soy product with our meals. The manufacturer would come to camp and cook,
showing us how to use this product in many ways. In the trials, the food was delicious and seemed
to be a nutritious way to go. When we arrived at camp, the product arrived in a dry form, in huge
Spackle buckets. It was used as a meat supplement, for example in chili or burritos or spaghetti
sauce. The first day was all right, however the quality of food and flexibility of menu decreased
with each meal. Volunteers and campers alike were falling ill with bowel disturbances, and parents
were demanding that their children be fed. Volunteers actually left camp to buy their campers
McDonalds, which seemed a better alternative. After a week and a revolt by the staff and campers
alike, this fiasco of an experiment ended, and we were forced to bring in a large shipment of food
and new kitchen staff, all at a hefty price. It took years before the SOY year was laid to rest in the
camp’s collective memory.
It is also important to be very specific in terms of donations of food. With storage an issue, make
sure it is something that will actually be eaten. No one needs a donation that ends up costing
shipping or storage fees, or which is thrown out. Dry goods and gift cards are the best donations,
and all offers should be run by your Head Cook or Dining Hall supervisor to ensure there is space
for them.
Finding that “Home Away From Home”
Don’t you hate when people tell you that the most important element in any situation is subjective?
Well, sit down, because the most important element in finding a long-term site for camp is finding
the place that feels like home. We have spent time at many places that were alternatively awful,
okay or fancy, but few have had that feel of “home” – a place that gives off a sense of calm, that is
large enough to give everyone space but small enough to feel intimate. Of course, after looking at
all sorts of camp spaces, you will understand it when you see it, but there are some tangibles to
look for:
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Yours will be the only program on site, and you will fill the space
The camp site itself may include vast tracks of land, but that the essential main camp space
is manageable by walking, especially when considering program period transitions
Your campers can participate in all the activities that are on site – nothing is more
unwelcoming than a camp full of amazing program opportunities that you can afford to
offer your campers
The site staff with whom you will have the biggest interaction live on site and give off the
sense of welcoming you and are interested in learning about and meeting your campers’
special needs
Obviously, a place becomes more like home with each season you spend. However, if you hear a
click when you wander a new place, that tiny internal click that tells you you’ve arrived, pay close
attention.
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