OTTAWA—The loss of a loved one is never easy for anyone. Children
often grieve as much as adults, but in different ways. Good Grief Fun
Camp, which took place at Trinity United Methodist Church in Ottawa this
past week, helped children learn positive ways to express their grief
and deal with their feelings, questions and concerns in a safe
environment.
Forty campers, ages five through 18, attended the
three-day event, which was sponsored by Putnam County Homecare and
Hospice in conjunction with Trinity United Methodist Church, Putnam
County Educational Service Center, and Pathways Counseling Center. The
activities during the event were designed to facilitate discussion on
grieving. Trained counselors gave children the opportunity to share
their losses with their peers and with caring adults.
“Some kids
don’t share much here (at camp),” noted Julia Mason, Putnam County
Homecare and Hospice’s Medical Social Service Coordinator and the camp’s
coordinator, “but the camp activities promote talking at home.”
Alan
DiOrio, a professional artist from Lima, mentored the children to
create tie-dyed t-shirts, which helped them relate the grief of losing a
loved one to having a beautiful, lasting memory. Volunteer Lisa
Salisburey talked to the participants about dealing with grief through
exercise.
“When you exercise, your brain creates endorphins,”
Salisburey explained to the attendees. “Endorphins make you happy.” The
children performed various feats at an obstacle course, then ran or
walked around the block.
During the camp, the children also
visited Challenged Champions, where they rode horses and learned to
lasso, and participated in the Good Grief Olympics. Many of the games
encouraged trust, problem solving, and teamwork. They made a memory
quilt; each child was given a square to draw a memory of their loved
one. Children celebrated their loved ones’ birthdays with pizza,
cupcakes, and a balloon release. Thursday’s closing ceremony included a
video of the week’s activities, the memory quilt display, and releasing
butterflies to take messages to loves ones in heaven.
Most campers
were from the Putnam County area. Elizabeth Perhot, who recently
experienced the loss of her grandmother, came all the way from Belleair,
Florida for the week. Her mother, Julie (Kurtz) Perhot, said initially,
Elizabeth was a bit apprehensive about attending the camp. “It turned
out she had a great time,” Julie related. “The camp allowed her to learn
about and better understand the grieving process.”