Camp BraveHeart

Free Summer Camp Offers Kids Help with Grief, Aug. 22 & 23

Registration Deadline, Aug. 16

Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, the state’s largest and most comprehensive hospice is sponsoring Camp BraveHeart a free, two-day summer camp for kids and teens ages 4 to 17 who have lost a loved one.  Camp BraveHeart will take place on August 22 and 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at YMCA Camp Fuller in Wakefield.

To register, call 401-415-4610 or email dupchurch@hhcri.org by Aug. 16.  Transportation is available from pre-arranged pick-up and drop-off points.

At Camp BraveHeart children who have lost a loved one will take part in fun recreational activities as well as receive grief support. Traditional camp activities will include swimming, kayaking, archery, tower climbing, zipline, gardening, storytelling and arts and crafts. In addition, counselors will provide grief and emotional support through discussions, opportunities to memorialize loved ones, scrapbooking and remembrance circles.

“Research indicates that children who experience the loss of a loved one can sometimes become ‘forgotten mourners’,” says Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island senior grief counselor and children’s grief specialist, Deanna Upchurch, who holds a master’s in counseling psychology and founded the camp. “These surviving children often feel isolated and lonely in their grief and may not be sure of how to handle the conflicting emotions they are feeling.  At Camp BraveHeart, we provide an appropriate emotional outlet to children by offering them grief support in an environment of fun recreational activities.  We help them to understand that what they’re experiencing, although painful, is
perfectly normal.”

Camp BraveHeart is made possible through donations from YMCA Camp Fuller, Wakefield, RI, The Pilkington Memorial Golf Tournament, and The Ask Mom Fund.  Anyone wishing to donate to the Camp BraveHeart Fund may send a tax-deductible contribution to Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, Department of Philanthropy, 1085 North Main St., Providence, RI
02904.

Learn more about Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island’s bereavement and other services or call the bereavement department at 401-415-4610 or the main number at 401-415-4200.