Way of life: Camp Forget-Me-Not helps youngsters deal with grief

For a long time, Helios Care’s Camp Forget-Me-Not has been serving to youngsters address loss.
According to helioscare.org, “Camp Forget-Me-Not is a free day camp for children and teens, K-12 (or ages 6 through 18), who have lost a loved one. Kids may have a more difficult time processing, expressing and coping with grief. Our camps are facilitated by Helios Grief Support professionals trained to address the special needs of grieving kids. Customized counseling, activities and resources help kids share their experiences as they move through their healing processes together – bringing some brightness back to their lives.”
The camps usually run from May by means of September, and this season’s remaining session will happen Saturday, Sept. 27 on the Beaver Valley Campground in Cooperstown. A media launch famous that this would be the third session this 12 months, and registration is open at 607-432-5525.
Daryl Kovalich, a social employee and bereavement and palliative care coordinator with Helios Care, stated Camp Forget-Me-Not fills a necessity. Though concerned with Helios Care for about 5 years, Kovalich stated, this was his first season with the camp.
“It grew out of our organization’s support for children within the community, as well as kids who have some relation to a loved one who died on hospice,” he stated. “It grew from a need to give children a place to do a couple of things: first and foremost, there is such healing power in people coming together, so it’s to provide kids and teens with a sense of community and witnessing of grief. Our culture is somewhat grief- and death-phobic … so it’s important for young people at different developmental stages to see their grief get witnessed and normalized.
“And the camp provides a number of different opportunities for kids to get some coping tools, and practice them in a safe place,” Kovalich continued. “The first rule of camp is to have fun, so we try to make everything we do engaging and a balance of learning time, practicing time and just hanging out and being kids.”
Inda Fitch, a licensed social employee and camp director, echoed the significance of getting enjoyable whereas therapeutic.
“Most kids, if not all, tell me that they had so much fun,” she stated. “They also really enjoy meeting other new kids that have been through this, because, a lot of times, in their head, they think they’re the only kid going through this. And it doesn’t have to be hospice-affiliated; it can be a community loss. But just hearing their stories … is beautiful, and watching them form these friendships and relationships through this really tough time in their lives.”
Sources stated Camp Forget-Me-Not is obtainable free to youngsters in Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties, because of particular person benefactors.
“It’s free, and we want as many kids to come as possible, and we’ll accommodate whatever we need to, because we want good attendance and we want to keep supporting the kids in our communities,” Fitch stated. Nineteen youngsters attended an Aug. 21 session in Oneonta, although Fitch stated attendance is often 10 to 12 youngsters, with the Aug. 21 session marking one of many program’s best-attended camps in 4 years. Camp Forget-Me-Note strives for a two-to-one attendee/grownup ratio, she stated.
“It’s free for everyone, and one of the things that makes Helios somewhat unique among hospices is that, because of support from generous benefactors, we’re able to provide bereavement support to anyone in our area,” Kovalich stated. “Through 2025 and into 2026, all of our bereavement support programs — whether that’s Camp Forget-Me-Not or some of our upcoming grief retreats for adults, it’s all offered at no cost.
“Bereavement support is part of Medicare, so we’re required to provide bereavement support programming to caregivers and families of loved ones who die on hospice,” he continued, “but we extend that to community members through a combination of benefactors and grants.”
Kovalich stated a one-day grownup program, the theme of which is “seasons of growth,” is being provided Oct. 18 on the Uplands Center in Walton. Registration, he stated, will open quickly. Registration for the final installment of Camp Forget-Me-Not is inspired a few week earlier than, he stated, although he added, “We don’t turn anyone down.”
Kovalich stated such group outreach takes completely different shapes.
“We do a lot of support for local schools; in the past couple years, we’ve done some specific four- or five-week grief support programming in local schools,” he stated. “This past year, there were significant losses within the Laurens and Morris districts, so we’ve done some presentations there to support the guidance counselors and school psychologists and teachers with best practices for holding space for children’s grief. We do presentations about grief and loss throughout the area: schools, SUNY campuses, local Offices of the Aging and the (senior citizen center) the Gathering Place. We try to partner with as many organizations in the community as possible to make sure there is a safety net for grief.”
Fitch stated, whereas such efforts are made year-round, planning for Camp Forget-Me-Not begins about three months prematurely. Fitch stepped into her function as director in May.
“We try to really get the word out on social media and in the papers, and we take the time with our volunteer department to call each and every camper we’ve had in the past that’s still age appropriate to attend, and we like to advertise to our recent lost loved ones’ kids and grandkids so that we get the word out all year long,” she stated. “Camp has been going on for about 30 years. Camp is one day, and it’s for kiddos and teenagers and we try to separate them into age-based groups so that everything is appropriate.
“Campers arrive in the morning, and it’s a whole-day event,” she continued. “We provide meals, then, throughout the day, we vacillate between some intense grief interventions to help them process, learn coping skills and create rituals for their lost loved ones and a nice mix of recreation and fun and building relationships with each other.”
Activities, Kovalich stated, embody artwork tasks, artwork remedy, motion and extra.
Fitch stated Camp Forget-Me-Not programming is carried out by a mixture of volunteers and employees.
“The staff members are the experienced clinicians providing grief interventions … and then, for the volunteer half, they have to go through a camp volunteer training that requires knowing basic signs of child abuse and things like that to make sure everybody is well supported,” she stated.
Many campers, Kovalich stated, return to Camp Forget-Me-Not.
“We have a long history of kids attending multiple camps over multiple years,” he stated. “One of the reasons it’s so important to welcome campers more than once is, the way that grief impacts us changes at different developmental stages. The way they understand (grief) and how it impacts them at 5 is different than at 10 or 12. What we know about grief is that it can come back and present different challenges at different developmental milestones.”
Though Helios Care gathers official suggestions, sources stated, the affect on youngsters is past measure.
“We do some formal surveys, and also get a lot of anecdotal feedback from parents and children, and one thing we hear consistently is that a lot of our campers end up making new friends,” Kovalich stated. “Grief can feel like an isolating experience, so one thing we do find, is kids connect through their grief, and that’s a doorway into continuing friendships.
“While I do a lot of work to support children and teens in our community, this was my first experience being a part of Camp Forget-Me-Not,” he continued. “One takeaway that I have is just that there’s an incredible amount of depth and courage that kids bring with them to camp. What we see in the morning is a little quiet, but, by noon, the walls come down, people drop their guard and kids are able to access their vulnerability, and that vulnerability is such an important part of healing.”
For extra info, go to helioscare.org.