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LOS ANGELES, CA- OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center is hosting two weekends at Camp Erin-LA this summer (June 10-12 and August 19-21) at the scenic Camp Bloomfield in Malibu. Camp Erin-LA is a weekend-long camp experience for children and teens ages 6 to 17 who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or guardian in the past 3 years. Camp is free of charge for all children and combines traditional camp activities with grief support, education, and remembrance projects. Typical fun and engaging camp favorites such as rock climbing, swimming, arts and crafts, and campfires are interspersed with projects and experiences used to facilitate expression of feelings, memorialize their loved one who died, and promote healing.
When campers arrive on Friday, they are greeted with open arms by the dozens of grief specialists and trained volunteers who guide the campers through a series of bonding and grief-related exercises, as well as fun high-energy physical activities. They begin their camp journey with an intimate Friday evening ceremony where each camper shares their name, the name of their loved one who died, and places a photo of that person on a “memory board.” Saturday evening’s Luminary Ceremony is equally powerful and another opportunity to come together to say goodbye to their loved one by writing a message or drawing on a lantern that’s lit and set adrift across the pool. OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center recognizes every person’s grief is unique in duration and intensity, and that commonalities of experience strengthen the value of a grief support group in helping the healing process. “By offering Camp Erin-LA, OUR HOUSE puts a support system into place, offering a safe space to talk and providing the tools to cope with their grief,” said Michele Prince, Executive Director of OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center. “Camp might be the only opportunity they have to work on their grief with other kids.”
Camp Erin is an initiative created and funded by The Moyer Foundation in Seattle, WA, a non-profit organization established by Major League All-Star pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife, Karen. Camp Erin is named in memory of Erin Metcalf, a friend of the Moyers who lost her battle to cancer at age 17. Camp Erin-LA was featured in an Emmy award-winning HBO documentary “One Last Hug: Three Days at Grief Camp”, which was produced in association with The Moyer Foundation and OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center.
For more information about Camp Erin-LA, please visit www.ourhouse-grief.org/volunteer-opportunities/camp-erin-los-angeles.
