Camp Celebrate Hope: A Brief Analysis

"Hope -- Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead,” (Barack Obama.) Without hope there is no power, and the organization, Eight Days of Hope, acknowledges that by assisting those that require support. Eight Days of Hope is a foundation that evidently shows the love and support of Jesus Christ by serving those in need. In addition, volunteers getting life changing experiences.

After seeing the smiles that seemed almost permanent that week, I realized how important it is to work with and help younger children. I also learned what it’s like knowing that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life. I’ve been a counselor at that same camp for two more years since that first summer, and it gets better every time. Even though it can be difficult and frustrating to work with children sometimes, the reward that you, as well as the children, receive is well worth the effort.

On December 17th, 2011 the person who was supposed to guide me through life, watch me grow, and teach me how to get through life, passed away. My mother’s death was certainly out of the blue and has impacted my family and I drastically. About 55.3 million people die each year and one of the most important person to me became a part of that statistic ( ) . My loss changed how I grew up, how things were in my household, and has altered my opinions on life. The experience of losing someone close to me and it being so unexpected has opened my eyes on how I should cherish the ones I love and not take life for granted.

During and immediately after my undergraduate course, I had the opportunity to work as a volunteer at the American Counseling Association and as a houseparent for an institution that houses mentally ill individuals. The association welcomes students and encourages them to offer voluntary services while they have an opportunity. My experience at the association, as a houseparent, and currently as a paraprofessional for mentally ill adults and children with behavioral problems provided me with a solid footing as well as the necessary resources to prepare for my career in counseling. The experiences gave me an opportunity to attend several conferences and workshops where I had the chance to meet and interact with other professional counselors. These opportunities opened me up and exposed me to numerous challenging situations that helped me to grow both personally and professionally. Interacting with more qualified and experienced people in the association, institution for the mentally ill, and agency that I currently work for has helped me to develop confidence in my work as I sought their assistance and guidance whenever I needed help. The experiences gained while working at the association was helpful to me as I could apply that knowledge and the skills learnt to help my church members. At my church, I was a youth leader and

The child who died is considered a gift to the parents and family, and they are forced to give up that gift. Yet, as parents, they also strive to let their child's life, no matter how short, be seen as a gift to others. These parents seek to find ways to continue to love, honor, and value the lives of their children and continue to make the child's presence known and felt in the lives of family and friends. Bereaved parents often try to live their lives more fully and generously because of this painful experience.

Another challenge that Kelly mentioned was society’s ideas about children and grief. She told us that the Ele’s Place staff is often confronted with this idea that children don’t really grieve, and if they do, it’s only in brief moments and doesn’t require any counseling or services to aid in their recovery. She also noted that there is a stigma around talking about death in our society. Kelly mentioned a local

There once lived a beautiful, innocent, and pure maiden named Hope. This girl was filled with love, compassionate, and a sense of happiness that enlivens her whole body. One day, she was gathering water in a nearby river, but then she started to feel like she was being watched. She immediately stopped, and said in her soft voice, "Is anyone there?" She looked around, and all of a sudden, a knight appeared. "Oh my, you startled me", she said with a smile. She kept a content demeanor while looking at the knight, but the knight was not speaking at all. The knight started to walk closer to Hope, but Hope did not expect anything wrong with this. After realizing that the knight is getting really close to her, she started to back up, but then the knight reached out and grabbed her arm. Hope jumped, fear rushing through her whole body, she started to struggle. Hope began crying and screaming for help as she was unclothed and sexually violated.

My field placement at the Vidant Home Health and Hospice was a challenging yet rewarding experience. I had the opportunity to work with the social workers and the Chaplin, most importantly it was a place to learn the fundamentals of hospice social work and bereavement. I was able to build assessment skills, and work with patients and their families, and to learn about death and dying. I was able to learn the value of listening skills and having the honor to make individuals and families comfortable during this challenging and difficult process. I was able to see how great the interdisciplinary team work together to support patients and families.

As the Cycle of Hope comes to an end, I would like to say that though I have blathered on for almost two weeks (to the annoyance of some) about the ride, it isn’t really about the ride!

This event shaped my compassionate side and now I can use my words and actions to help lift up others when things just aren’t going their way. I’m able to encourage others and also feel for them because I myself, have walked in their shoes too. I can love others as I am called to and help them see the light at the end of the tunnel through the compassion and sympathy I have in my heart. This side of me may have never come out if I hadn’t experienced the loss of my amazing uncle.

Today, I find a measure of comfort in the fact that my daughter was an organ donor. As the Grief Link article says, "It as an opportunity for something positive to come out of tragedy." My daughter cared about others and this caring continues after her

Through the sharing of experiences using art, play, journaling, music and conversation, this bi-weekly program provides support for children and teens who are grieving a death.

It was not until this past summer, I signed up to be a counselor at Camp Fatima. Counselors are people who are assigned a camper, who is mentally and physically disabled and they must watch, care, and do activities with him or her for six days. As I am the youngest in my family and often let others make decisions for me, I volunteered thinking that it would not be difficult. Ultimately, I realized that it was the hardest and most challenging experience I ever had to face.

Tomorrow’s Rainbow will welcome children from ages three to eight-teen years old who have lost a special person in their life and need to connect with people whom on their level of sorrow and emptiness. The services are given in a way that volunteers and specialist interact with the children grieving. The volunteers have ongoing training to make sure the importance of the grieving journey is meet to enhance the child’s spirit. Most children will leave Tomorrow’s Rainbow having closure and understanding with the person they have lost and as life goes on they learn to have better coping mechanisms. Kirst-Ashman, K. & Hull Jr., G. (2015) “Action steps are tasks one must complete to achieve desired primary goals” (p.226). Referring to Prepare

On April 6, 2016, I shadowed Megan in 7C and PICU, which was an eventful day full of thought-provoking and noteworthy patient interactions and child life centered conversations. This was my second time in 7C/PICU but my first time shadowing Megan. It was intriguing to see how two different CCLS’s handled the same units. Through my shadowing experience and observations, I gained knowledge of how to handle grief/bereavement situations, how to properly prioritize patients, charting techniques, and much more. This week I was able to reflect back to my knowledge of development so that I could better relate our coursework to my practicum experiences. In this journal, I will focus on two main patient interactions, both, which were unique, thought provoking, and relatable to developmental theory and coursework. I will also briefly discuss the knowledge I gained on how a CCLS can provide support during grief and bereavement situations.