Trauma Informed Care at Camp

DESCRIPTION:  In ACA’s 2017 Emerging Issues Report, the top issue facing camps is campers’ Mental, Emotional, and Social Health (Browne, Bialeschki & Wilson, 2017). Considering national statistics of childhood adversity, this is no surprise. The Center for Disease Control reports that 64% of individuals experience one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) before reaching 18 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). When ACA reaches their goal of serving 20 million campers in 2020, they’ll be providing care for 12.8 million campers impacted by trauma. During this webinar, the National Director of Camp HOPE America, a national camping and mentoring program specifically for children impacted by the trauma of child abuse, family violence, or sexual assault, will give participants a general overview of trauma and its impact, explain how trauma-informed care can be approached within a camping context, and offer practical solutions, techniques and approaches. These tools will empower leaders at camp to care for campers who have faced adversity, and to adequately equip and train their staff to do the same.

LEARNER OUTCOMES:
By the end of the webinar, participants will

• Understand the ways trauma impacts the campers they serve;
• Learn how trauma-informed care in a camp setting is a distinct approach that can benefit all camps;
• Learn practical solutions, techniques, and approaches – including stories and tangible takeaways – to care for campers who have faced adversity. 
• Spend time considering how they create and structure schedules, their activities, their approach to implementing trainings, and how they think about camp traditions – all from the lens of trauma-informed care in a camp setting.