Bereavement Camps for Kids: Benefits and Challenges
Continuing Education Available for Professionals!
A valuable educational offering for individuals or organizations, with CEs included--in an easy-to-access on-line format! One hour of continuing education is available for social workers, nurses and counselors. See the complete list of board approvals.
Register for the archived program (available on-demand through January 31, 2011) | Register by mail/fax | What is a webinar?
HFA is pleased to offer expanded access and usage to the program, allowing your organization to maximize the benefits of participation! The Organization Registration Fee is $100, allowing an unlimited number of viewers to attain credit when viewed from one computer. This registration fee allows access to both the live webcast and an archived online program for one year past the live webinar, with unlimited CEs available. Individuals may register for the live webinar for $35 and 1.5 hours of CE credit is included for the registered individual. In addition, this webinar is part of a 3-part series, Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Grief and Loss. The Organization Registration Fee for the 3-part Series is $250. Register Now for the Series! *If you register for the series, you will view this first webinar as an archived program, not live.
Learning Objectives | Outline | About the Presenters
Almost 875,000 children and adolescents experience the death of a parent each year. Many hospices and other organizations have found bereavement camps to be an innovative and successful way to support bereaved young people. A nationally-recognized panel of experts will discuss the benefits of running a bereavement camp, and look at some of the considerations and challenges inherent in such a program in this upcoming online webinar.
The panel will be hosted by HFA’s Senior Consultant Kenneth J. Doka and will include: Sherry Schachter, Director of Calvary Hospital’s annual bereavement camp in New York; Angela Hamblen, Director of Camp Good Grief in Tennessee; Bonnie Carroll, Executive Director of TAPS, which offers support to those suffering the loss of a military loved one; and Lesa Linster, National Camp Erin Project Director at The Moyer Foundation. The panel will examine underlying theoretical models of bereavement camps, and discuss issues of funding, compliance, intake and evaluation, and staff training. Each panelist will also share her own experiences about running a bereavement camp, focusing on camp structure, which children may benefit most from the program, and successful activities. The webinar and supporting materials will offer a toolbox of practical information such as intake forms, publicity materials, and hands-on suggestions.
If you already run a camp, this webinar will reaffirm and review the most current information and best practices. If your organization is considering starting a camp, this webinar will be a great place to explore this new and viable approach to serving the bereaved youth of your community.
Objectives: At the conclusion of this Webinar, participants will be able to:
- Describe the need for and role of bereavement camps as an intervention for children, adolescents, and their families;
- Discuss different programs for bereavement camps including day camps and sleep-away camps; specific-loss camps (such as military loss, hospice or disease specific camps, sibling camps etc.); and general camps (open to the community, variety of losses etc).
- Delineate theoretical models underlying a camp program;
- Identify issues in running bereavement camps including governmental and institutional regulations staff, equipment and facilities needs, funding and expenses, intake, outreach, safety issues, and evaluation;
- Describe applicable programs suitable to different age groups and how to balance grief work with other recreational activities;
- Identify and describe three particular challenges in administrating, staffing, and programming bereavement camps.
I. Introduction: Bereavement Camp as Intervention
A. Assessing the Need for a Bereavement Camp Program
B. Underlying Theoretical Models
II. Considerations in Developing Bereavement Camps
A. Setting Goals and Objectives
B. Developing a Theoretical Model.
C. Identifying Target Populations
D. Determining Expenses and Finding Funding
E. Complying with Regulatory Requirements
F. Staffing Issues including training, orientation, and debriefing
G. Outreach and Intakes
H. Developing Age-Appropriate Activities and Programs
I. Evaluation
III. Special Issues and Problems
A. Behavioral Issues and Homesickness
B. Psychological Support and Referral
C. Transference and Counter Transference
Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv, is Senior Consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America and Professor of Gerontology at the Graduate School of The College of New Rochelle. Dr. Doka is editor of both Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying and HFA’s Journeys: A Newsletter for the Bereaved. He has written or edited more than a dozen books on various aspects of grief and loss, and has published over 100 articles. Dr. Doka has served as a panelist on all sixteen of HFA’s Living With Grief National Bereavement Teleconferences. The Association for Death Education and Counseling presented him with an Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Death Education, and he is a member of the International Work Group on Dying, Death and Bereavement.
Bonnie Carroll, is the Executive Director of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), the national Veterans Service Organization providing peer based emotional support, grief and trauma resources and information, casualty casework assistance and crisis intervention for all those affected by the death of a loved one serving in, or in support of, the armed forces. Ms. Carroll currently serves on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Advisory Committee on Disability Compensation, the Board of Directors of the Association of Death Education and Counseling, the Department of Defense (DOD) Military Family Readiness Council and she co-chairs the DOD Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide in the Armed Forces. Ms. Carroll holds a degree in Public Administration and Political Science from American University and a degree in Equine Science from Springfield College. She has completed Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Executive Leadership Program on International Conflict Resolution, and is a graduate of several military service schools, including the USAF Logistics Officer Course, Squadron Officers School, Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, Academy of Military Science (Distinguished Graduate), and USAF Basic Training (Honor Graduate).
Angela Hamblen, L.C.S.W., C.T., is the Clinical Director for the Baptist Trinity Hospice and Center for Good Grief. Angela is a licensed clinical social worker trained specifically in the field of death and dying. Angela received her Certification in Thanatology from ADEC in 2007. Angela oversees the social services department for Baptist Trinity Hospice as well as the Center for Good Grief. She directs the 3 Camp Good Grief programs offered to children, teens and adults who are grieving the loss of a loved one. After the tragedy of September 11, Angela served as a consultant to Schneider Children’s Hospital in Long Island, NY where a program modeled after Camp Good Grief was developed. She has also assisted Hospice of Central Peninsula start their first grief camp. She is a recipient of several community awards, including: Top 40 Under 40, Health Care Hero Finalist, An Angel in Our Midst, and 50 Woman Who Make A Difference.
Lesa Linster, is National Camp Erin Project Director at The Moyer Foundation. Lesa is responsible for managing strategic growth and development of the Foundation's international Camp Erin network. She spearheads program, fundraising and awareness in all Camp Erin communities and nationwide - building relationships, collaborating with MLB, NFL, companies and individuals to support Camp Erin and child bereavement. Her team analyzes and tracks existing bereavement standards, performance of each camp and national bereavement expectations. Lesa has 11 years of experience in development, operations and marketing. She gained this experience working for bedrock Seattle entities such as The Seattle Mariners, MSNBC and The Seattle Times. Lesa ran Wild Radish, LLC, an award-winning company at the forefront of Seattle's evolving, healthy construction and development sector and has also consulted for a number of for profit companies. Lesa holds a BA in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Washington and trained extensively at the School of Visual Concepts. She was nationally published for her undergraduate research at UW and continues to work with Universities across the state of Washington. Lesa has given presentations on Camp Erin and child bereavement to large organizations across the country and established nationwide, multi layer partnerships in support of kids.
Sherry R. Schachter, PhD, FT, is the director of bereavement services for Calvary Hospital/Hospice where she develops, coordinates, and facilitates educational services for staff and families. She facilitates weekly bereavement groups for bereaved spouses/partners, adults whose parents have died, and parents who have lost children. Dr. Schachter is a recipient of the prestigious Lane Adams Award for Excellence in Cancer Nursing from the American Cancer Society and for over 28 years has worked with dying patients and their family caregivers. In addition, Dr. Schachter has a private practice in New York City and Pennsylvania and also publishes and lectures on issues related to dying, death, and loss. She is the past president of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement (IWG). Dr. Schachter is the mother of five and grandmother of eight.
HFA is grateful to the support of The Moyer Foundation for its sponsorship of this series. The Moyer Foundation offers encouragement, comfort and support to children in distress; the Foundation created and funds Camp Erin, the largest network of bereavement camps in the country for children and teens who are grieving a significant loss.
Technical Requirements:
View the technical requirements and test your system. We strongly recommend you use a PA system if you intend to show this a large audience. Do not rely on laptop/desktop computer speakers as they will not be able to project the sound enough for an audience to hear. Please be sure the system you intend to watch the webinar on is compatible before you register for the webinar. Hospice Foundation of America cannot offer refunds for technical difficulties.
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