Camp Good Hope and Teen Encounter

October 2009

Camp Good Hope and Teen Encounter is a bi-annual camp for Campers who
have experienced the loss of a loved one or friend.

Camp Good Hope is an over night camp that offers a full range of activities including sports, crafts, canoeing and horsemanship. Campers also participate in various group sessions with a social worker who teaches them to understand the loss they have experienced so they can begin the process of healing. Group modalities include art therapy, drama, and one on one discussions.

According to Hospice of Citrus County Chief Executive Officer Anthony J. Palumbo, “It’s not easy being a young person coping with death. To bring comfort to young people, in their most profound time of sadness, is something very special and incredibly important.”

“Our camps help ease the burdens that no child should have to carry."

Hospice of Citrus County Grief Services Manager Jonathan Beard ,   “Camp Good Hope provides a safe outlet for children to express their feelings. Children who find it hard to open up to adults will often open up to other kids.”

During a full day of activities, campers enjoy the attention of trained facilitators and over 40 volunteers from Citrus and surrounding counties on hand to help with a full gamut of activities. "We're very lucky to have such a great group of volunteers," Beard said. "They do so much with these kids. Everybody pitches in to help to have some fun,"

Campers enjoy horseback riding, canoeing, fun games and arts and crafts all designed with a therapeutic purpose.  These recreational activities are interspersed with times for the Campers to talk, share, contemplate and grieve their losses.  

Hospice of Citrus County Herry's Kids Division bereavement professionals, social workers, and trained volunteers at camp facilitate support groups and talk therapy which help children to more easily acknowledge their emotions. During support group sessions, the goal is to help children explore their grief while meeting other children who have experienced similar losses.

Camp Hope Program Coordinator Kathy Walsh stated “While everyone expresses grief in their own way, campers especially need to know that there is no right or wrong way to feel. Some of the campers have never discussed their loss. Being with camper who have endured a similar loss provides comfort.”


Teenagers, already struggling with the transition from childhood to young adulthood, may also have a very difficult time communicating their pain and confusion after a loss.

Teen Encounter is Hospice of Citrus County’s first overnight camp for teens which was held in tandem with Camp Good Hope on October 19 and 20 at Camp Good Council.  Offering  a wide-range of recreational camp activities geared toward older youth, Teen Encounter allows teenagers to share their feelings with each other and learn about loss.  The goal is to develop better coping skills and help build additional self-confidence and self esteem. 

The teen years can be a period of confusion and anxiety.  Some teens feel disconnected and isolated from family and friends and have not developed a proper outlet in which to deal with grief and loss. If their feelings of grief are not shared and expressed, they may come out in other ways. Sometimes it's physical ways like headaches and other times it's manifested in irritability or a short temper. Teens who don't address their grief can be at a higher risk for acting-out behaviors.

However, a teen who understands the grief process, both the anger and fear, has a good chance of coping with all their feelings of loss, and may be better able to handle losses that will occur throughout their lives.

Teen Encounter Program Coordinator stated, “Their [teen] losses may seem immense and consuming because their losses may be accompanied by a sense of depression or hopelessness.”

Teen Encounter provides grieving teens an opportunity to talk through their concerns and fears in a safe, supportive, non-judgmental environment.

Continued Morley "Teens don't like to stand out in a crowd, but when everyone has something in common, the teens more easily relate.  In the support group setting they experience the unconditional acceptance of their peers while building friendships. The end result is the amazing amount of bonding that has occurred at Teen Encounter.”

“Sometimes grief doesn't seem so powerful when it is shared and spoken out loud.”

Herry's Kids, Camp Good Hope and Teen Encounter are supported solely through community donations, corporate sponsorships and grants. Established in 1983, licensed in 1985 and accredited by the Joint Commission, Hospice of Citrus County is preserving the integrity of the hospice philosophy in the finest traditions of serving you.  For information on services, call 352.527.2020 or 866.642.0962.

Download a Camp Good Hope and Teen Encounter
Application today by clicking here.

Camp Good Hope and Teen Encounter is a program of the Herry's Kids Division of Hospice of Citrus County and is supported by community donations, corporate sponsorships and grants. If you our your organization would like to donate to Camp Good Hope please contact Public Relations Manager, Joe Foster at 352.527.0063 ext 228. You can also donate to Camp Good Hope Online, by clicking

Hospice of Citrus County accepts donations online through our secure server. Use your credit card to make a tax-deductible contribution today.

For your convenience the following forms of payment are acceptable online.

To mail in donations by Visa Master Card or Check, download the mail in donation form by clicking here.