Camp Hope From Home Family

Camp Hope From Home

Family and Marriage

Recently, much media attention has been devoted to the deployment of U.S. troops to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other parts of the world. While this is certainly important for economic and political reasons, it also has a great impact on the American family. Each day, many children must cope without their mothers and father. Camp Hope at Home is for these children. A day camp for children ages five to seventeen whose parent or parents are currently deployed in a branch of the U.S. armed forces, Camp Hope also has an extension program for young adults ages 18 through 24. Through the use of Biblical counseling, the counselors will help these children understand how to cope with their parents absence and the important role they play both in their country and in their families.

Goals

Camp Hope at Home seeks to encourage the children of deployed American soldiers, in addition to providing relationship counseling for children who are struggling in their understanding of the parent-child relationship made difficult by their parent's deployment. In addition, the camp seeks to provide counseling for children having difficulty adjusting to their parent's role and their own life during their parent's absence. Camp Hope at Home is designed to be a resource for parents, children, and community members. In addition to aiding the children of deployed soldiers, it also seeks to be a resource providing data and information about the relationship between deployed parents and their children. Some of the resources that the group hopes to publish include books and other support materials for families with one or more deployed persons. In addition, Camp Hope at Home understands the seriousness of the emotional and psychological problems that can arise from a parent's absence. Thus, camp Hope at Home offers services to children suffering from these disorders and also helps to prevent them.

II. Mission Statement

Camp Hope at Home is a Christ-Centered program for children ages five through 24 whose parents are deployed as members of the U.S. armed forces. The camp seeks to encourage these children, prevent psychological and emotional problems caused by the separation between them and one of their parents, and help these children deal with the long distance relationships they have with their parent or parents.

III. Program Implementation

Camp Hope at Home as three basic programs. The first is the camp, a two-month summer retreat for children ages five through 17. The children are separated into groups by age, and are given age-appropriate activities to encourage recreation, learning, friendship, spirituality and coping. Along with regular camp activities, students regularly participate in devotional periods with their counselors, and counselors encourage the children to respond, alluding to their own experiences with their deployed parent. Counselors use these devotional times to show children how they can use the Bible as a source of strength during this difficult time. Children are given key versus, and counselors encourage children to understand God ordains all things. Special counseling is given to children whose parents have died as a result of their deployment. These children meet at different devotional locations during the day. They receive lessons about heaven, death, and purpose. Counselors evaluate these children for depression and other potentially dangerous reactions to their parents' deaths. In addition to devotions, children are encouraged to become spiritually active through participation in daily services. Chaplains and counselors lead these services each day, in which a lesson is given teaching Biblical principals with a bent for these children's special circumstances. Children then meet with their devotional groups to discuss how to apply the lesson to their own lives.

While the camp is the main focus of the institution, an extension program for older children of deployed soldiers or those who have died as a result of their deployment is another important feature. This feature presents one-on-one counseling opportunities. The young adults have the opportunity to sit down with Biblical counselors and discuss problems that range from psychological disorders to difficulty connecting with their deployed parent. Although one-on-one counseling is the major component of the extension program, group counseling is also available. Further, the group runs a Bible study once a week that allows young adults to consider their predicaments through a spiritual lens. Knowing that these people are often in college, working, or trying to get their lives on the road, the institution offers some features of the extension program vie telephone and instant message.

The third and final part of the institute includes the community resource. This component involves presenting material for the community to better understand the difficult life for children whose parents have been employed. Books, pamphlets, and other literature are medias that may be used in order to give the community information about the problem. This feature allows for parents and community members, such as teachers, to discuss relevant topics.

IV. Measuring Success

Because Camp Hope at Home is an institution involving three very distinct components, measuring its success will be rather difficult to measure. Still, success can be measured by studying the students that come to the institute in contrast with the general population of those whose parents have been deployed or died as a result of their deployment. If this kind of test suggests that the general population can cope with a parent's deployment better than those who have attended a program, then one could argue that the program is not effective. In addition, the program's success can be measured by the number of those who graduate from the program. Further, one can measure the success of the institution through evaluating a subject before and after coming to the institution for treatment. If the evaluated subjects prove to be changed in some manner, it can be claimed that the program is effective. Community surveys can also be used to assess the community's reaction to this program and its utilization among the community.