Camp Oz helps kids who have lost someone

Sep. 22—Erin Kleve noticed her young daughter Maggie was struggling after losing her two grandparents a few months apart from each other during 2021.

"She just had a hard time dealing with it," the Faribault woman said of her then 10-year-old. "It felt right to have her go to camp."

The camp the mother of three refers to is Camp Oz, a grief-support camp hosted by Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato for children and teens. It's on Oct. 7 at Camp Patterson on Lake Washington with a Sept. 27 registration deadline.

Maggie attended last year, her mother said, and will attend again this year.

The camp is free and designed for youth ages 6 to 18 years old who have experienced the death of someone in their life. Participants share their feelings of grief and participate in remembrance activities. They also have the opportunity to connect with peers who have experienced loss.

Activities include games, arts and crafts, music and small-group time to share about grief and loss.

As many as 60 kids attend Camp Oz, said Jeanne Petroske-Atkinson, hospice bereavement coordinator for Mayo Clinic Health System Southwest Region. Camp Oz got its start in 2006 and has operated every year since, except for 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID pandemic.

Attendees are divided by age and are overseen by volunteers.

During small groups, kids get a chance to share their loss story, Petroske-Atkinson said. "So they tell group members who died, how they died and how they feel about it. And we have another session where kids can talk about feelings related to loss."

Camp Oz campers also are briefed on coping strategies and receive a bag of things to help them cope with the loss once they're back at home. "Our hope is it's healing to share about their loss, their story, their feelings, and connect with other kids who are going through the same thing.

"A lot of kids feel alone in their loss because not a lot of people have lost close loved ones as a child or teen, so it helps them learn about grief and loss, and have fun," she said.

For Kleve, Camp Oz is important not just for her daughter Maggie but for herself as well.

"My father passed away when I was a freshman in high school," Kleve said. "The mission and purpose behind Camp Oz really connected with me, and I wanted to give back to something that would have been really, really helpful to me as a child."

Kleve is one of the several dozen who volunteer with the camp.

"Our volunteers have their own story of loss, and I think our volunteers are really good with understanding how kids feel and sympathizing with them having been through similar losses," Petroske-Atkinson said. "Hopefully kids can take what they learn at camp and continue to use those lessons as a path forward toward healing."

"I think for me, the great part of it is finding those that are not just in your community but also in your age group who are going through a similar loss," Kleve said. "Just having someone who is experienced in the same thing to talk to. I also really appreciate the time we take to spend with the kids and teach them about emotions. We say it's OK to be angry, even at the person who has passed away. When you're really overwhelmed and sad ... navigating those feelings is important and validating that it's OK to have all of them."

Dani White, a Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato hospice nurse, lost her dad at age 7 and said it was a time of isolation and loneliness. She volunteers with Camp Oz and thinks it's a great avenue for kids who are grieving a loss.

"They can all have a great time and have fun but also tackle some of the harder topics and give kids tools to help with their grief," White said. "Just to be able to connect with other kids who have had similar experiences ... I think it helps with their grief."

Kelsey O'Donnell, of Mankato, attended Camp Oz in 2011 and 2012 after losing her twin sister, Brea, in 2010. O'Donnell was 16 years old when her sister died and 17 when she attended camp.

"I would recommend camp to kids because it's a safe place where you can have fun, learn not only about yourself but about things you can use to cope outside of camp because grief is kind of ever going," she said. "So to learn those new things is helpful beyond just that one day of camp.

"It's helped so many people, through different phases," she said. "Some people only need to come once and some people come year after year, and it's really fun."

To register a child or teen for Camp Oz, visit mayoclinichealthsystem.org and search for "Camp Oz." For more information about the daylong camp, contact Petroske-Atkinson at atkinson.jeanne@mayo.edu or call the Hospice Department at 507-594-2989.