23
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MARCH 25 - MARCH 31, 2022
Mental health at summer camp
Directors talk about how camps are meeting the challenge for their staff and today’s kids
BY JESS MICHAELS
With more children and
young adults experiencing mental
health challenges, summer
camps have needed to adjust over
the years, especially during COVID,
to help meet the needs of their
campers and staff.
Jamie Sirkin, owner and director
of Summer Trails Day Camp
in Westchester and president of
the New York State Camp Directors
Association, has advocated
for almost a decade along with
other camp directors to get a law
passed that would allow camps in
the state to hire licensed professionals
such as social workers.
This past July, the law passed,
giving camps the option to hire
licensed professionals for their
campers and staff.
“Camp directors have seen
more children arriving at camp
with eating disorders, anxiety
and depression. Then there are
just the things that happen during
a typical summer such as a
child being upset about their favorite
counselor leaving,” Sirkin
explained. “This law will give
camps the option to have a professional
on hand to help children,
along with young adult staff,
deal with the baggage they come
to camp with and to process the
things that happen during the
camp season.”
When children are prepared
before heading off to camp, they
feel less anxious about the new
experience and ease into camp
life easier.
“Children who go to camp
with positive expectations go into
camp excited. We have ramped up
a lot of what we do prior to camp to
help kids have a smoother adjustment,”
explained Matt Krouner,
owner and director of Camp Schodack,
a coed overnight camp in
NY. “There are new camper days,
home visits, and each camper has
a big brother or a big sister. We
are having more contact with parents
and Zoom calls for new parents
leading up to camp, which is
above and beyond what we have
done in the past. Our goal is to set
positive expectations so campers
feel a sense of place before getting
to camp.”
Camp Schodack also tells
campers before the summer that
within the first week of camp,
they can choose a staff member to
be their check-in person.
“Campers can identify a person
on the leadership team or a
counselor that they can go to if
they need support. When a child
picks the person, it also makes a
staff member feel amazing and
connected to the person that
chose them,” Krouner said.
As camps opened up last summer
after a year of COVID, they
were prepared for children to
come to camp having had limited
social interactions and fewer extracurricular
activities after experiencing
remote learning.
“We knew kids were desperate
for social interactions that they
couldn’t have for the 18 months
prior to camp,” Krouner said. “We
went into the summer with a plan
to have increased check-ins with
campers but most of those weren’t
necessary. Children found their
stride quickly and felt protected
and safe at camp. Staff, on the
other hand, felt more limited at
camp without their normal days
off out of camp due to COVID and
it affected their experience. We’ve
made some changes to make sure
our staff feel supported. I’ve hired
a staff liaison, which is like a staff
cruise ship director, to focus on
the needs of our staff and to adjust
things as the summer goes on.”
Sirkin explains that as kids
were back at camp after many
months in isolation, simple things
like dealing with disappointment,
learning to share or taking turns
was a struggle for them.
“These were things we always
taught at camp and now half of
the group was having difficulty
and the counselors had to manage
things on a different level
than previous summers,” Sirkin
said. “These are not necessarily
part of a counselor’s skill set. For
next summer, we will enhance
this part of our staff training to
Photo via Getty Images
include mindfulness, taking a
break, behavioral management
and communication skills.”
The camp director and leadership
teams at both day and overnight
camps are there to help
both campers and staff. However,
it’s important for parents to be
honest with the camp about any
challenges a child may be having.
“When you send your child to
camp, you are forming a partnership
with the camp director,” said
Davina Angus, executive director
of the American Camp Association,
NY and NJ. “You want to let
the director know if your child
has had any recent changes in
their life or is experiencing any
issues that would be helpful for
the camp leadership team to know
ahead of time. Being upfront with
what is going on will help the
camp set your child up for a successful
summer. If you leave them
in the dark, they won’t necessarily
be able to support them in the
best possible way.”
CAMP GUIDE
Our goal is t o set positive
expectations so campers feel a
sense of place before getting to
camp.
Matt Krouner
/QNS.COM
