Camp Harmon: Where Campers with Disabilities Thrive
Written by Tara Leonard
BOULDER CREEK (April 2010) -- Every parent of a summer camper knows how scary it is the first time you drop off your child. Will he make friends? Will she be able to sleep? Who will take care of him if he gets hurt or lonely? For Jill Winston of Santa Cruz, the experience was the same. “I was nervous waiting in line to check Rozie in,” Winston recalled. “But then I saw a camper in front of us in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank. I just cried. I was so amazed that this person could have a camp experience. I thought if they can handle that child for a week, surely they can handle my Rozie.”
Welcome to Camp Harmon, where children and adults with disabilities play, laugh and learn just like campers everywhere.
Perched in a redwood glen on the banks of the San Lorenzo River, Camp Harmon boasts 14 rustic wood cabins lined with cots, a spacious dining hall, and a campfire circle. There’s a messy arts & crafts center, a large swimming pool and an athletic field. There’s even a stage where campers perform a raucous “Harmonstock” talent show each year, their laughter ringing out more loudly than the music.
In other words, this 37-acre property in Boulder Creek looks just like any other summer camp. That’s the point, according to Bruce Hinman, CEO of Easter Seals Central California, which has owned and operated the camp since 1963.
“Camp Harmon helps our campers reach beyond the limitations that many people would like to place upon them,” he explained. “They realize they can swim and dance and ride a horse. It raises their sights about what they can do in their own lives.”
"I CAN BE MYSELF"
Each of the 6-day summer sessions cater to a specific group of campers based on age and physical and/or developmental disability. Campers ages 8 to 65 have a chance to socialize with their peers in a safe, structured environment with two campers to every one counselor. Equipment and activities are adapted to make them accessible to all, from the hydraulic lift into the swimming pool to adaptive golf clubs for the putting green. As a result, campers enjoy a level of independence they simply don’t experience in their day-to-day lives.
Linda Clements’ 24-year-old grandson, Keith, has been attending camp for six years. “Until then he had never spent the night away from home except with family,” she said. “I was afraid to let him cross a street by himself! But Keith just loves camp. They have barbecues and dances and skits just like regular camp. He says, ‘I can be myself.’”
“Many of the campers start off shy, because it’s all unknown to them,” explained Katie McPartland, a former camp counselor who remains on the Easter Seals program staff. “But as the days go by, they realize they’re in an environment that is completely understanding and accepting of them. It’s very powerful for them.Their guard comes down and you start to see the laughter and smiles.”
“You get to meet new people, very nice people,” added Arnold Rosalyn Winston, who has been going to Camp Harmon since she was ten. She told me that the food is “pretty good” and that arts & crafts is her favorite activity. Then she added with a giggle, “And you don’t have to be by your parents!”
This final point is critical for campers and families alike, as Camp Harmon provides the only chance for many family members to enjoy a brief respite from demanding caretaking responsibilities.
SUMMER FUN MAY END DUE TO FUNDING CRISIS
Sadly, Camp Harmon is probably going to have fewer campers this summer. About half of them rely on state and federal funding for their week at camp according to Hinman. But money earmarked specifically for camping and recreation under Developmental Disability Services has been cut entirely from the California budget.
“I hope Keith still gets to go,” Clements worried. “Easter Seals has done so much for him. He’s really grown up and been able to experience new things. We’re looking into a scholarship. But does anybody really realize what’s being cut? There’s nothing else out there for adults with disabilities. They need this.”
“It’s such an amazing place,” Jill Winston said. “It should be something all these kids have an opportunity to do, someway, somehow.”
If you’d like to donate to Camp Harmon, please send a check to Easter Seals Central California, 9010 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003or call (831) 684-2166. The National Health Council, a group that rates voluntary health organizations for the percentage of dollars that go directly to client services, has placed Easter Seals #1 in the country for the past 30 years.
This article originally appeared in the Spring, 2010 edition of Santa Cruz Magazine.
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