Sask. summer camps for people with disabilities cancelled amid pandemic

Some Saskatchewan summer camps for people with disabilities say the risk for campers due to COVID-19 has led to long term camp cancellations.

Camp Easter Seal has cancelled all of its camps for the first time in 66 years. The Sask Abilities-funded camp, which runs at Manitou Beach, sees more than 700 campers with disabilities every summer.

Camp manager Christine Epp said it was a difficult decision, because the camp means a lot to participants.

"They get to be up at camp and be at the lake and ... be with people who are like them," she said. "We had a camper's mom say to us that camp is the highlight of the year for her son and camp is better than Santa Claus, is better than Christmas.

"So we know that our announcement was met with a lot of sadness, but we have an overwhelming amount of support from families as well."

Summer camps are part of Phase 4 of the province's reopen plan, along with other recreational activities like municipal parks and swimming pools. Limits on public gatherings will also increase to 30 people during that phase.

No start date has been set for Phase 4, as it will depend on the success of the phases that come before it. 

Even if the province moves into Phase 4 this summer, Epp said Camp Easter Seal will stay closed. She said its 2021 season is also at risk, since many campers have underlying medical conditions and overnight camp puts them in close quarters. 

Epp said the camp is currently working to come up with a plan for reopening when they can safely do so. 

Some taking a financial hit

Youth Farm Bible Camp in Rosthern usually welcomes about 600 campers every year for both children's camps and camps for adults with disabilities. 

A final decision about its 2020 camps has not yet been made, but executive director Mark Wurtz said it will certainly look different.

The camp couldn't hold its annual fundraiser this year in March and all school camping trips were cancelled in the spring. With those factors and a forced reduction in enrolment likely, Wurtz said the budget has been slashed nearly in half, from about $900,000 to $500,000. 

Wurtz said he hopes to run some children's camps this year, but at best they will be reduced from 70 kids per week to about 20 in order to stay within the restrictions on gatherings. 

Wurtz said that their adult special needs camps probably won't be possible because care homes are on lockdown and have been instructed to remain that way into Phase 5. 

"They're the ones also most wanting to come to camp and this is their like one week away for the whole year and they talk about it in September already," he said. "So we're trying to figure out if there's something we can do."

A virtual visit to camp

Youth Farm Bible Camp is hosting livestreams on Facebook every Friday so campers can stay connected to camp staff and familiar places. It is also releasing prerecorded videos of their horses and petting zoo, and crafting tutorials.

To raise money, it has been doing a weekly food market with prepared meals for the community. So far, it has been able to keep its six full-time staff members employed with help from the federal wage subsidy of 75 per cent. 

If it does hold camps, Wurtz said it will be installing hand washing and sanitizing stations all over the property. Activities where physical distancing can't be kept up will be cancelled. He said the camp is considering three-day sessions (which it holds annually for horseback riders) and canoe trips. 

Camp Easter Seal is working to set up online activities like crafting sessions, virtual campfires and singalongs, and live videos from some of the camper's favourite spots.

"We have some good engagement on social media with many of our campers and we know that it is hard for them," said Epp. "We're hoping that by staying connected to them we can continue to provide hope and a sense of belonging to them that they're still part of our community."