Day in the Life: Applying a Trauma-Informed Lens to Programming

The Center for Disease Control reports that 64% of individuals experience one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) before reaching 18 (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). When ACA reaches their goal of serving 20 million campers in 2020, they’ll be providing care for 12.8 million children impacted by trauma. This course will explore how trauma-informed care can be approached within a camping context, and offer practical solutions, techniques, and approaches for youth development and camping professionals. These tools will empower leaders at camp to care for youth who have faced adversity and to adequately equip and train their staff to do the same.

By the end of this course, participants will:

1. Understand the ways trauma impacts the children they serve;
2. Learn how trauma-informed care in a camp setting is a distinct approach that can benefit all camps;
3. Gain practical solutions, techniques, and approaches – including stories and tangible takeaways – to care for campers who have faced adversity;
4. Take away important considerations for camp leadership and staff when creating and implementing schedules, activities, and camp traditions – all from the lens of trauma-informed care in a camp setting.

This course is for youth development and camping professionals.