Janice R. Andrews
A year-round national program, Camp Mariposa provides more than just your average summer camp experience. Tucked away in the peaceful forests of Pennsylvania, this unusual camp blends conventional activities with life-saving counseling sessions facilitated by qualified experts. Its goal is very clear: to provide kids from addicted families the resources they need to end the cycle of substance misuse.
Third-year camper Madison Timmons, age 11, remarked, “I never knew anybody else who had the same kind of experience as me before I came here.” For many years, Madison’s father battled addiction. “He once showed up at my school. At the time, I assumed he was simply having fun, but I subsequently found out he was drunk. That was while I was in preschool.”
Approximately 3,500 campers have been welcomed by Camp Mariposa since its founding in 2007. These kids, who range in age from nine to twelve, come to camp at a pivotal moment in their development to comprehend and end the cycle of drug abuse disorders. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration states that there is a four to eight times higher chance of addiction issues in children whose parents have a history of addiction.
“We’re teaching kids not only what addiction is and that it’s a disease and how substances really hijack the brain, but we follow that with coping strategies,” said Renee Mezér, director of Camp Mariposa. The program’s objectives are to build children’s resilience and provide them the tools they need to deal with their difficult home situations.
Research supports Camp Mariposa’s usefulness. According to a six-year research by the LSU Institute for Public Health and Justice, ninety-four percent of campers had not used marijuana. The need of early intervention and education for at-risk adolescents is shown by this statistic.
Madison’s father, Jason Strecker, started doing heavy narcotics at the age of twelve and has battled addiction ever since. Even though he is clean right now, he admits that his daughter has suffered greatly as a result of his addiction. “I didn’t want it to be like that, so it sucked.” We were such a close-knit family, and I really, truly believed that this time would be different. However, I just resumed using,” he remarked.
Madison claims that she had to grow up too quickly and felt as though she had lost a parent as a result of her father’s addiction. She has discovered understanding and a feeling of community at Camp Mariposa in spite of these difficulties.
The medical director of Drexel University’s program for families dealing with addiction, Dr. Barbara Schindler, stresses the value of easily available treatment and all-encompassing support. “There needs to be more immediate access to treatment and an understanding of all the things that somebody needs in order to engage in treatment,” she stated.
Madison’s time as a camper at Camp Mariposa ends this summer, but her time there is far from ended. Eager to assist other kids going through similar difficulties, she intends to return the following year as a junior counselor. She offers resilience and hope to those who may be facing similar challenges by saying, “You’ll make it.”
As a ray of hope, Camp Mariposa breaks the cycle of addiction and equips the following generation to live better, drug-free lives. It offers kids the knowledge, resources, and good old-fashioned camp fun they require to get through the difficulties of growing up in an addicted family.
