When Rihanna McCarthy, of Urbana, received a call four years ago on Father’s Day that her dad, who had been missing for two weeks, had died, her heart dropped.
“I was scared, I was depressed,” McCarthy, who will turn 15 on Oct. 26, said.
In the subsequent months and years, therapy has taught her strategies to live with her range of emotions.
“I wasn’t there to experience his passing,” she explained. “I’m still grieving.”
Also helping her for the past four years has been Camp Healing Heart. McCarthy was among 28 campers and 70 volunteers at Camp Healing Heart at the 4-H Memorial Camp at Allerton Park near Monticello on Oct. 4.
“People were welcoming. I could express how I felt and found myself being more open,” she said of her camp experience.
Camp Healing Heart, which began in 2005, is an annual, free, one-day camp sponsored by Carle Health Hospice, providing a safe and caring environment for children ages 5 to 17 who have experienced the death of a loved one. Campers express their grief, emotions, fear and concerns, and learn coping skills that will help them into adulthood. The day includes therapeutic sessions interspersed with fun activities, such as rock climbing, a hayrack ride, and arts and crafts.
Shelby Mallow, BSN, RN, nursing supervisor for the Carle Health Hospice East Region, said, “I enjoy being here (at camp). When I am here, I feel connected to the community. People think, ‘It’s a kids’ grief camp, it’s depressing.’ But there is a lot of joy here.”
Another Carle Health Hospice Camp, Kourage Kids Camp, began 26 years ago, and this year was Sept. 27 at Camp Manitoumi in Lowpoint near Peoria.
Both camps are free to campers, thanks to generous donations to Carle Health Center for Philanthropy. For more information, visit carle.org/give-change.
McCarthy said, “I continue to come each year because it helps me to understand my emotions. At certain points, I’m not sure of what I’m feeling. They go through the steps of grief and help me to understand where I’m at in the moment. If I start bawling, I know that I can calm myself down with journaling, by writing poems and by expressing myself through dance.”
“Camp Healing Heart is an amazing place to express your feelings and be who you are,” McCarthy explained. “It can open a new chapter in your life.”
Kourage Kids Camp had 44 campers and 46 volunteers at this year’s event, participating in Lego building, memory pillowcases, calming jars, grief bracelets, garden memory stones, face painting, ziplining, climbing wall, basketball and The Tree of Support.
The tree is a therapeutic tool that helps grieving children acknowledge their loss, express their emotions, and find strength in their connections, Jill Prosser, MS, MSW, Carle Health Hospice Peoria Region volunteer/bereavement coordinator, said. Leaves on the tree were completed by the campers, and each leaf has the name of the loved one who died, their feelings, how their life is different since their loved one died, what they share with their loved one or who supports them in their grief.
At Camp Healing Heart, among volunteers again this year were Sam Periyanayaham, a junior at the University of Illinois, and Jared Ellison, superintendent of the Gifford Grade School District.
Periyanayaham said she volunteered at camp again this year because “I want to feel that shared sense of empathy and interconnectedness.”
Ellison said, “During the activities and sessions, we talk and work through things. The campers and volunteers grow as a group throughout the day.”
McCarthy said there’s a lesson in the camps for everyone:
“Never be scared to get help when you need it. Sometimes you need help in life. That’s OK.”
“I was scared, I was depressed,” McCarthy, who will turn 15 on Oct. 26, said.
In the subsequent months and years, therapy has taught her strategies to live with her range of emotions.
“I wasn’t there to experience his passing,” she explained. “I’m still grieving.”
Also helping her for the past four years has been Camp Healing Heart. McCarthy was among 28 campers and 70 volunteers at Camp Healing Heart at the 4-H Memorial Camp at Allerton Park near Monticello on Oct. 4.
“People were welcoming. I could express how I felt and found myself being more open,” she said of her camp experience.
Camp Healing Heart, which began in 2005, is an annual, free, one-day camp sponsored by Carle Health Hospice, providing a safe and caring environment for children ages 5 to 17 who have experienced the death of a loved one. Campers express their grief, emotions, fear and concerns, and learn coping skills that will help them into adulthood. The day includes therapeutic sessions interspersed with fun activities, such as rock climbing, a hayrack ride, and arts and crafts.
Shelby Mallow, BSN, RN, nursing supervisor for the Carle Health Hospice East Region, said, “I enjoy being here (at camp). When I am here, I feel connected to the community. People think, ‘It’s a kids’ grief camp, it’s depressing.’ But there is a lot of joy here.”
Another Carle Health Hospice Camp, Kourage Kids Camp, began 26 years ago, and this year was Sept. 27 at Camp Manitoumi in Lowpoint near Peoria.
Both camps are free to campers, thanks to generous donations to Carle Health Center for Philanthropy. For more information, visit carle.org/give-change.
McCarthy said, “I continue to come each year because it helps me to understand my emotions. At certain points, I’m not sure of what I’m feeling. They go through the steps of grief and help me to understand where I’m at in the moment. If I start bawling, I know that I can calm myself down with journaling, by writing poems and by expressing myself through dance.”
“Camp Healing Heart is an amazing place to express your feelings and be who you are,” McCarthy explained. “It can open a new chapter in your life.”
Kourage Kids Camp had 44 campers and 46 volunteers at this year’s event, participating in Lego building, memory pillowcases, calming jars, grief bracelets, garden memory stones, face painting, ziplining, climbing wall, basketball and The Tree of Support.
The tree is a therapeutic tool that helps grieving children acknowledge their loss, express their emotions, and find strength in their connections, Jill Prosser, MS, MSW, Carle Health Hospice Peoria Region volunteer/bereavement coordinator, said. Leaves on the tree were completed by the campers, and each leaf has the name of the loved one who died, their feelings, how their life is different since their loved one died, what they share with their loved one or who supports them in their grief.
At Camp Healing Heart, among volunteers again this year were Sam Periyanayaham, a junior at the University of Illinois, and Jared Ellison, superintendent of the Gifford Grade School District.
Periyanayaham said she volunteered at camp again this year because “I want to feel that shared sense of empathy and interconnectedness.”
Ellison said, “During the activities and sessions, we talk and work through things. The campers and volunteers grow as a group throughout the day.”
McCarthy said there’s a lesson in the camps for everyone:
“Never be scared to get help when you need it. Sometimes you need help in life. That’s OK.”
Categories: Community
Tags: camp, grief, healing, heart, hospice, kids, Kourage, philanthropy