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HIV affects the entire family, not just the child. Health care costs, missed work for doctor's appointments, and struggles with reimbursement often leave parents of HIV-positive kids struggling to make ends meet. Luckily, charities have started camps to allow kids with HIV to be just a kid.
Almost all of these programs are at no cost to the parent. Many teach valuable health lessons, build up child self-confidence and self-worth, and show how to keep living a long, fulfilling life. All have medically-trained staff to handle sensitive needs like wheelchair-accessible cabins. Of course, they also have all the activities that make camp a childhood rite of passage.
West Coast
Reach Camp http://www.reachministries.org/programs.php#camp
Location: Tacoma, Wash.
Rise 'n Shine http://www.risenshine.org/summer_camp.htm
Location: Seattle.
Camp Starlight http://www.cascadeaids.org/events.html
Location: Portland, Ore.
Camp Laurel http://www.camplaurel.org/
Location: Los Angeles area.
Camp Sunburst http://www.sunburstprojects.org/
Location: ten miles south of Livermore, Calif.
Camp Pacific Heartland http://www.camppacificheartland.org/
Location: Malibu, Calif.
Camp Care http://www.allaboutcare.org/campcare/
Location: Central California's Yosemite region.
Camp Kindle Hollywood http://www.campkindle.org/
Location: Los Angeles.
Midwest
Camp Kindle http://www.campkindle.org/
Location: Nebraska.
Camp Heart to Heart http://www.campkindle.org/
Location: Lebanon Junction, Ky., south of Louisville.
Camp HOPE
http://projectark.wustl.edu/CampHope.html
Location: Ozark Mountains, south of St. Louis.
Jennifer's Camp: http://www.aarcsa.com/Jennifer.html
Location: San Antonio, Texas.
Camp Hope http://www.aidshelp.org/pt_programs.aspx
Location: Houston area.
Camp H.U.G. http://www.aidshelp.org/pt_programs.aspx?jump=camphug
Location: Houston area. An offshoot of AIDS Foundation Houston's Camp Hope, for caregivers and well as children with HIV.
Camp Oasis http://www.campoasis.com/
Location: two hours north of Toronto.
Comparison of teen- and parent-reported estimates of social and emotional support, 2021 to 2022
July 23rd 2024The investigative team noted that teenagers with emotional and social support are better off to handle stressors such as biological and social transition, and are less likely to experience a variety of adverse physical and mental health outcomes.