Camp Helps Kids Cope With Loss of a Loved One

7/16/13 - Dozens of teens gathered at the Howell Nature Center this weekend to take part in Camp Courage, offered for free by the Ted and Jane Von Voigtlander Foundation. Along with traditional summer camp activities, the program offers a variety of counseling and therapy activities aimed at helping the campers handle and express their grief. These include group counseling sessions like “ask a doctor,” where campers got the opportunity to pose questions to medical professionals about the diseases and injuries that affected their loved ones. They also took part in art therapy, remembrance discussions, and a miniature boat launch in homage of their lost loved ones. A musical therapy session had the campers rewrite the lyrics to a popular song to reflect their own feelings and struggles. The group sang the new version of the song for their parents at the end of the camp. The camp has been operating for the past five years, and one of the best indicators of its success is the fact that many of its counselors were campers in previous years, and even some of the teen campers from this weekend will return later this month to counsel younger children. (TD)