Helping children cope with grief.
Client Stories
Mark and Lauren's Dad
The following are excerpts from a letter written by the father of two teens who attended Camp Erin in August 2006. Names have been changed for privacy reasons. The letter was sent to our Safe Crossings Program Coordinator.
Dear Safe Crossings:
How could a parent ever repay you for Camp Erin and what it has given my kids? Keep up the wonderful job you are doing.
I know it must be a huge struggle to organize the Camp, but all I can tell you is that it is worth it. Even today I see the growth in my son’s eyes and all he has gained from the Camp. He hasn’t yet told me what he got from the experience, but that doesn't matter. I see the results. I can tell you know that the effects have lasted long after Camp, and both of them are functioning and communicating at a much higher level than before Camp Erin.
Below is an e mail I sent to you after picking the my kids up from the Camp in August, 2006: I had an all out brawl trying to get Mark to go to Camp Erin on Friday. His friends kept calling it “Death Camp.” I dropped him off and no other teens had shown up yet, probably because their parents were fighting with them, too! Eventually, 8 teenage girls and 9 teenage guys showed up: The most ever.
When I went to pick my kids up after the weekend Camp, I couldn't stop crying. I could tell that they had absorbed something at Camp but I couldn't put a finger on it. They were different in some way and I was so happy I couldn't stop my tears of joy. All the other parents were the same. They felt that something had changed, and tears flowed everywhere. I can't even begin to describe the feelings that came pouring out of me as I watched the counselors look at the kids leave, knowing that they had made a difference in these kids’ lives.
The Safe Crossings counselors helped my kids cope with the most tragic event of their lives, and put some kind of a meaning into an otherwise meaningless loss of the most important person in their life, their mother. She had been taken from them much too soon. I can never thank them enough and understand now why they do it for free, from the heart.
My kids slept the whole way home and for 2 hours after they got home. After that they got up and spontaneously started cleaning that house and doing laundry. Mark cleaned his room, put away his clothes and placed the shooting star pillow he received at Camp on his freshly made bed pillow. He also placed the Styrofoam star with the candle in the middle that they had decorated. At Camp, he lit it, and placed it in the lake one evening while listening to a singer on the shore. At home, he put it next to his bed and lit it for his Mom.
I think Mark received the most out of this Camp. He feels he is not alone and that he can go on now. He is very bright-eyed and much more talkative and willing to help me with our new journey through life.
I really love these guys and they deserve the chance to be great. Thank you so very much.
Most sincerely,
Mark and Lauren’s Dad