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Camp Good Grief for children dealing with loss goes virtual

Published  July 18, 2020 1:15pm EDT
Coronavirus in Michigan
FOX 2 Detroit

(FOX 2) - A camp for kids dealing with the loss of a loved one decided not to cancel and instead, it's going virtual.

“To be able to grieve during a pandemic - everything is magnified. The sadness is magnified, the loneliness can be magnified because of the social isolation,” said Karen Monts.

Annual Camp Good Grief goes virtual

Instead of canceling, a camp for kids dealing with the loss of a loved one is going virtual.

Monts, director of grief support services for Hospice of Michigan and Arbor Hospice, says that’s why the annual Camp Good Grief -- a one-day retreat for Michigan kids coping with grief after the death of a loved one -- is more important than ever.

The kids, ages 8 to 17, typically spend the day outside rock-climbing, canoeing, and playing games -- things they can’t do this year. But Karen says it’s still so vital to get together online.

“Even though the world has stopped virtually when we went into social isolation, and all of that, the grief didn’t stop,” she said.

Counselors will meet with the kids over Zoom, where they can still do some of their typical activities like arts and crafts, and sing-alongs with music therapists. 

“It’s okay to cry but it’s also ok to have moments of laughter and moments to sing and have a good time together,” Karen said.

Karen says there are some benefits to going virtual. Now people who couldn’t physically make it to a campsite can participate online, and now adults, who typically drop the children off and leave, are invited to join in.

“We’re encouraging the parents or the guardian or auntie or uncles, whoever is taking care of that child, to be right there in the experience and they can learn and be healed as well,” she said.

She says the goal is to make sure kids know in the midst of everything going on in the world right now - they haven’t been forgotten.

“I hope that they walk away number one, knowing they’re not alone, number two knowing that we support them and care for them,” she said.

Registration is open now. Families interested in participating are encouraged to register as soon as possible by visiting hom.convio.net/virtualcamp, as space is limited.