Camp Mariposa may sound like a fairytale summer camp, but campers say their stories are far from that.
This year-long national program teaches children the tools they need to deal with addiction in their families. Traditional camp activities are combined with support sessions led by trained professionals, with an emphasis on drug and alcohol prevention.
“Before I came here, I had never known anyone who had the same experience as me,” said Madison Timmons, an 11-year-old camper whose father struggled with drug addiction. “I remember one time he showed up at my school and I thought he was having fun, but I found out later that he was drunk. I was in preschool at the time.”
Approximately 3,500 campers have participated in the program since it began in 2007.
“We teach kids not only what addiction is, that it’s a disease and how substances actually hijack the brain, but we also give them coping strategies,” said Renee Mezér, director of Camp Mariposa in the Pennsylvania woods.
A six-year study found that 94 percent of camp participants did not use drugs, according to research conducted by LSU’s Institute for Public Health and Justice.
Children attend Camp Mariposa between the ages of 9 and 12, a key period for understanding and breaking the cycle of substance use disorders, experts say. Children of a parent with a history of substance abuse are four to eight times more likely to develop a substance use problem, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Jason Strecker, Madison’s father, says he is currently sober from the hard drugs he began using at age 12. At times, Strecker says, his addiction was strong enough to take precedence over his daughter, whose name is tattooed on his neck.
Madison said she felt like she had lost a parent and had to grow up too soon.
Asked about the impact of drugs on his daughter, Strecker said: “It sucked, because I didn’t want it to happen like that. We were a very close family, and I thought I was going to make it this time, and I really did, and then I started using again.”
Dr. Barbara Schindler, medical director of a program at Drexel University in Philadelphia for families struggling with addiction, says there needs to be “more immediate access to treatment” and “an understanding of all the things a person needs to engage in treatment.”
This summer marks Madison’s last time as a camper, but she plans to return next year as a junior counselor. In the meantime, she has this message for others going through similar challenges: “You can do this.”
Nancy Chen
