Montreal bereavement camp offers grief counselling for kids

For the first time in Montreal, kids aged six to 17 will have the chance to attend Camp Erin, a free bereavement camp designed specifically for kids.

Camp Erin is one of a large network of camps based in the U.S. and funded through the Moyer Foundation, an organization that helps children and families dealing with loss. 

There are 48 Camp Erins throughout North America, including four in Canada. The first Montreal edition takes place this weekend, at the Harry Bronfman Y Country Camp in Huberdeau, Que.

The camp is meant to help youths express their grief and heal, following the loss of a loved one.

"They will transcend their sense of isolation, that they're not alone," said camp director Corrie Sirota.

Sirota, who is a clinical social worker and author, spearheaded the effort to bring the camp to Montreal. She said there about 30 participants registered for this edition of about 50 who applied.

"I spent the year working on recruitment and outreach to every school, school board, hospital, hospice, churches, synagogues...letting them know," she said.

Activities at the camp include icebreakers, outdoor sports, and arts and crafts projects. There are also counsellors on hand to help participants who feel upset or overwhelmed.

"We're going to do a memory board where everyone brings a picture of their person who died," Sirota said. "Each child will be invited to the board to present who the person is, how they died, and their relationship."

'A great experience'

Tiffany Minorgan's husband passed away suddenly two years ago when her son Ethan was only six years old. He went to a Camp Erin last year in Ontario.

"It was a great experience for him," Minorgan told CBC. "He was around other kids who knew what he was going through."

After his experience at the camp last year, Minorgan noticed differences in Ethan's behaviour.

"Soon after the camp, he wrote a letter to his dad," Minorgan said. "He said 'I'm really sad you're gone, but I'm doing fine.' He felt the need to write that letter a couple of days after he came back from the camp."

For Sirota, who herself lost her brother in a car accident 28 years ago, those types of moments are what make the camp such a positive environment for the kids.

"They can laugh, and they can cry, and it's okay."