camp-mariposa

IU students and future healthcare workers are helping kids transform at Camp Mariposa-Aaron's Place

Sitting around a campfire in a wooded area in Indianapolis, Alan Alvarez couldn't help but be moved by the stories he was hearing.

Young campers at Camp Mariposa-Aaron's Place were sharing letters they had written about addiction and how it had impacted their families. Camp Mariposa-Aaron’s Place is a year-round addiction prevention and mentoring program for youth affected by the substance use disorder of a family member.

"Listening to some of the students read their letters was such a poignant moment," said Alvarez, a fourth-year medical student at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "Despite their young age, it was clear that many of them knew how addiction changes a person, which sort of shocked me, to be honest, and they were able to vocalize how much they don’t like addiction and what it does to people around them."

Although shocked by how much the children knew about addiction, Alvarez could also relate. He grew up with a father addicted to cocaine and gambling. Although his family worked to shelter him from the turmoil caused by addiction, Alvarez knew his life was unusual.

So, when he had the opportunity to volunteer at the camp, which is organized by Overdose Lifeline and several community partners, Alvarez jumped on board.

"I was drawn to this camp by my own experiences and the desire to volunteer in my community, particularly with young people," Alvarez said.

“A place where kids transform”

Justin Phillips knows addiction. In 2013, she lost her 20-year-old son Aaron to a heroin overdose. A year later, she founded Overdose Lifeline which supports individuals, families and communities affected by the disease of addiction and substance use disorder through advocacy, education and support.

The organization has lived up to its name, serving as a lifeline to families throughout the state, providing youth awareness prevention programs, training individuals in delivering evidence-based, personally targeted prevention programs for adolescents, distributing thousands of Naloxone kits and providing training on how to use them, and other training and support for families impacted by substance use. 

After hearing an NPR story on Camp Mariposa in Dayton, Ohio, Phillips knew she had to bring the camp to Indianapolis. She gathered community members, organizations and donations, and in May 2021, the camp became a reality.

"We wanted to provide young people affected by addiction a space to have fun through traditional camp activities and to speak freely and openly about substance use disorder without stigmatization," Phillips said. "This camp was the perfect opportunity to bring that environment to Indiana."

In the United States, 9.2 million children live in a home with at least one parent who uses illicit drugs. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Phillips said this number is on the rise. In Indiana, five in every 100 people report misuse with opioids, and 52 percent of children were removed from homes in Indiana because of substance use disorder.

Camp Mariposa-Aaron’s Place provides the traditional structure of the original camp – a year-long, weekend camp for youth nine to 12-years-old who can experience a traditional camp setting combined with education and support sessions led by mental health professionals.

However, Phillips' camp also includes a partnership with Indiana University to provide graduate-level mentors who are studying medicine, occupational therapy and social work. The camp is the only site approaching mentorship in this way.

Student mentors are trained in trauma-informed care, mental health development among adolescents, and health care and social bias. Additionally, as part of IU's Racial Justice Research Fund, Victoria G. Wilburn and a research team will evaluate the effectiveness of the mentorship model.

The goal is not only to provide mentors to the campers, but to give IU students interested in health care an opportunity to improve their knowledge in dealing with vulnerable populations.

"The training of our students really goes beyond the typical camp mentor," said Wilburn, an assistant professor in the School of Health and Human Sciences at IUPUI who is leading the mentor portion of the camp. "These students are taught elements of effective listening, developing a keen ear for any trauma a child may express during camp. They are also working alongside community health educators to strategize, in real time, an intervention approach. Essentially, they learn to see the child as a whole person."

Diana Ortega Monge, a third-year occupational therapy student at IUPUI who is interested in working in a pediatric setting, said the training she is receiving as a camp mentor is invaluable. The camp, Ortega Monge said, is both an opportunity to give back to her community and to grow professionally.

"As a future occupational therapist, I need to have a better understanding of how the presence of substance use in the household affects kids," she said. "I know I will work with children who experience different types of traumas, substance use being one of them, and it is important that I am intentional in my treatment plan to help these kids with the associated problems."

Having future professional health care workers learn more about substance use and actually engage with those impacted by it is essential to addressing substance use disorder in this country, Wilburn said.

Frequently, the U.S. health care system treats people in silos, failing to address some of the core roots of a person's health and mental wellness. Providing students who will be working in health care fields with a better understanding of people with substance use disorder, even if they do not plan to specialize in substance use, can help.

"Even if substance use disorder does not affect you personally, it is a problem within our community," Wilburn said. "Our hope is that this camp will allow our students to come away with a better understanding of substance use disorder so they can be more informed and compassionate practitioners."

Having a little fun

While at its core, the goal of Camp Mariposa-Aaron's Place is to break the cycle of addiction, it also aims to provide youth with a little fun.

Throughout the weekend, children played volleyball and basketball, tackled obstacle courses and enjoyed arts and crafts.

As the kids came to the first weekend of camp, some were nervous and a little uncertain. But Ortega Monge said that quickly changed as they began to make friends through activities like dancing and singing. The children also bonded through their own personal stories and commonalities.

"I loved seeing the campers laugh and play sports with one another," Ortega Monge said. "There are no words to describe hearing a camper talk about having no friends and then witnessing them meet new people, making new friends and trying new activities for the first time. The joy in their faces was priceless."

Alvarez said he is inspired by the youth he has met, children he knows have undergone great adversity yet remain resilient and cheerful.

"Through this camp, I am also reminded of how the simple things in life make these children incredibly happy and how the joy of a camp puts a smile on their face," he said. "I think what I learned during this first weekend was that they appreciate knowing that they are not the only kids having this experience in their life. After spending 40 hours at camp in one weekend, my two fellow male campers were calling each other friends already, and to me, that was a beautiful moment."

Camp Mariposa- Aaron's Place is free for all children and is funded through grants, donations and community support. More information about the camp and ways to donate is available online.