KAMAS — Last week, more than 70 children attended a camp in the Uinta National Forest.
Like most camps, the week was filled with activities such as horse riding, archery and dodgeball, as well as nature hikes. Laughter could be heard throughout the camp area as several activities were taking place at the same time.
“You see these kids smiling. You see these kids talking. You see these kids making friendships and trusting friendships with each other. And these are kids that sometimes have no reason to trust anyone, and they have every reason to be fearful of everything,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said. “You see them blossom into the kids they should be.”
What sets this camp apart from others is that all the participants are children who were either victims of sexual abuse or another violent crime, or who have witnessed a traumatic event and were later asked to testify in court.
The idea for Camp Hope started five years ago. Gill says traditionally, once his office was done prosecuting a case, that would be the end of their contact with the child.
“We had these cases, which are some of the most difficult cases that we prosecute. And we would work with the child and the child comes and testifies … then it comes to an end and we would go to our next case,” the district attorney said.
But for the children who were either victims or witnesses of the recently adjudicated cases, their road to recovery was just beginning.
After reading up on research on what traumatic events can do to the developing brains of children, Gill said his office began a program as part of their Victim Services Division to make a three-year commitment to each child involved in a case that his office prosecutes. Each month for three years, members of the DA’s Survivor and Victim Services Support Division will meet with that child. There are also special events held for the children throughout the year, such as holiday activities.
Five years ago, Gill started Camp Hope, using money from asset forfeitures to cover the cost of sending children to a summer camp for the entire week.
“It’s been overwhelmingly successful,” he said. “For us, dollar for dollar, this is probably the best thing.”
The goal, he said, is to “rewire” the child’s brain and replace their traumatic experiences with good ones that “then become part of long-term memory” and hopefully create new “neural pathways” or “neural connections.”
“The idea here is to give them good memories to build that resiliency, disrupt the hold of trauma. And we also know in trauma that unresolved trauma becomes integrated and part of families that are passed on intergenerationally. And we also know that, sometimes, today’s victims that don’t have that trauma resolved may become tomorrow’s offenders,” Gill said. “For us, this was about how to make a long-term impact for their recovery.”
Gill said the children who attend the camp have had a disruption in their lives “they didn’t ask for,” so his office wanted to figure out “how to return their childhood” to them.
This year, more than 70 boys and girls ranging from ages 7 to 17 were invited to Camp Hope, although Gill said he could have taken double that many if he had more resources.
Since the camp started, Gill said an unexpected bonus his office and camp counselors have discovered is the therapeutic benefits of the children bonding with other children who relate and open up to each other over their traumatic experiences.
L.D-S participated in the camp for two years and had such a positive experience that she returned again this year as a camp counselor. She said the first year she attended the camp was the first time she had the chance to ride a horse or experience the outdoors.
“At first, I was really nervous because I knew nothing about the camp and nobody here. So I was really nervous. But once I got here, my counselors were amazing, the people were amazing, and it was good vibes, so I got used to it. And I was like, ‘You know what? This is amazing,'” L.D-S said. “It’s such a loving and caring environment.”
Because of the traumatic experiences that many of the children have gone through, keeping them protected is a top priority at the camp. Organizers forbid journalists from giving the exact location of the camp or identifying any campers, past or present.
L.D-S said she wanted to return to the camp this year “to be the light to these kids like my counselors were to me.
Unresolved trauma becomes integrated and part of families that are passed on intergenerationally.
“I feel like this program helped me so much, get me through so many things in life. Like, I had very bad anxiety before. Now it’s like so much more calm and chill, and I feel so much better … I wanted to help these kids have a better future. I’ve gone through stuff. I see myself in them,” she said. “When they’re upset or even when they’re super happy, I always see myself in them. And it makes me happy when they’re becoming better. I love seeing the growth throughout these five days.”
On this day, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Posse Riding Club was at the camp to give horse rides. Before the children came out, Gill thanked the group for their help and talked about how activities like this were cathartic for the children.
One posse member then recounted an incident from a past camp in which a young girl, who was nonverbal, smiled when it was her turn to go on a horse ride. It was the only time that week that counselors said they saw her smile.
“You guys are really changing lives,” Gill appreciatively told the group.
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