Camp Erin
Connecting Kids with Grief Support: Camp Erin
Camp Erin is a national network of free grief camps for children and teens who have experienced the death of someone important in their lives. Camp Erin combines grief support and education with fun, camp-style programming. Whether day camp or overnight, these camps offer a safe, nurturing environment led by bereavement professionals and trained volunteers.
Since its launch, Camp Erin has become one of the largest programs of its kind in the U.S. and Canada. The goal is to help youth and their caregivers move through grief—not by denying the pain—but by learning coping tools, honoring their loved ones, and finding connection with others going through something similar.
What makes Camp Erin unique
Peer support + professional guidance
Camp Erin brings together bereavement professionals along with volunteers so that children, teens, and families have access to both emotional safety and expert support. It’s not therapy in the clinical sense, but it does teach coping skills and gives space to explore grief in healthy ways.Balancing healing and joy
Many grief-support programs focus only on the sadness, which is absolutely important. Camp Erin also emphasizes joy, play, connection, and the kinds of activities kids love—arts and crafts, games, hikes, campfires, etc.—while allowing space to remember and honor the person they lost. This helps reinforce that grief is part of life, not all of it.No cost to families
One barrier to grief support is cost. Camp Erin is free for participants. All youth camp-ers attend at no cost to their families. That’s a major factor in accessibility.Large scale and local reach
With over 32 locations in the U.S. and Canada, many camp sessions yearly, and tens of thousands of youth impacted since its founding, Camp Erin combines scale with local community partnerships. This means that people can often find a Camp Erin nearby.
The Camp Erin experience
For those who attend a Camp Erin session, they’ll experience a safe and supportive environment with others who have also experienced loss. Campers can expect structured groups, sharing, remembrance ceremonies, expressive art, as well as many of the “usual” camp activities—games, crafts, outdoor adventure—that help normalize and allow campers to feel joy and connection. The camp especially aims to equip youth and families with tangible tools to manage grief—learning that grief is unique to each person, that they are not alone, and ways to remember their loved one meaningfully.
Since 2002, Camp Erin has supported over 37,000 children and teens, helping them feel heard and understood at a uniquely challenging time in their lives.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Camp Erin, you can find more information here. ▪️
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