MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tuesday marked the return of Camp Bravehearts, a free summer program to help children cope with the loss of a loved one.
The family grief camp is hosted by Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, where children ages 6-16 can learn how to navigate their grief around trained professionals, volunteers and other children who are going through similar situations.
Amanda Pitman’s daughter Maddy was diagnosed with leukemia at just 11 weeks old in 2020.
“She fought a really hard fight for two-and-a-half years of her life and she passed this past September,” Pitman said.
And while she says losing Maddy devastated the entire family, she says it was especially difficult for her 6-year-old daughter Emma Kate.
“Separation anxiety became a big thing for her where she didn't want us out of her sight,” Amanda said. “Anytime if I went to do laundry and was in a different room than her, she would start to panic and get upset and say that she thought I went to heaven too.”
While every person grieves differently, processing the death of a loved one is especially hard for children.
Which is what inspired Methodist Le Bonheur to create the camp over 20 years ago. In 2023, Camp Bravehearts returns in-person for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“We don't want it to be described as just a sad thing,” says camp director and certified child life specialist Kayla White. “So this is a fun event. It's still camp. These kids get to come and they do camp stuff. Today we did a ropes course with our oldest group. We will do the zipline and a rock wall tomorrow.”
But the staff also spend plenty of time discussing coping skills and learning different ways to process grief with the campers, with a different method for different age groupes.
One involves smashing plates.
“It’s kind of writing a letter to your loved one and then smashing the plate,” White says. “It's like a metaphorical way to get the feelings out.”
When Amanda went to pickup Emma Kate after her first day Tuesday, she said her daughter had a big smile on her face.
“She said ‘I'm so excited that they're going to understand me and they've lost maybe their brother or sister too like me’” Amanda said.