Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 20, 1990 TAG: 9007190363
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: AUDREY OSBORNE SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The place is Camp CARE, a new organization established by Mitzi Hartwell, supervisor for community programs with the Christiansburg Department of Parks and Recreation.
For teen-agers who have problems with drug and alcohol abuse or family relationships, the organization will act as a stepping-stone to regaining self-esteem and support, Hartwell said.
"There is so much substance abuse in the New River Valley school system that students need a place to go before they start getting into trouble," Hartwell said. The camp is founded on tenets similar to those of DARE, Ala-Teen and other teen groups.
The camp, open to all teen-agers, will be the host to 10 youths this summer. The cost varies, depending on what each family can afford, Hartwell said.
The name incorporates the goals Hartwell has for the organization: companionship, adventure, recreation and education.
"With these goals in mind, Camp CARE will evolve into a group of teens helping and supporting each other through adventure therapy, a technique which boasts self-discovery and potential," Hartwell said.
In the four-day therapeutic camp, scheduled July 25-28 in Montgomery County camping areas, teen-agers will work as a group through the adventure games and tasks designed to accentuate their positive side.
The program is designed to make them feel good about themselves and elevate their self-esteem, which is an important part of getting them back on their feet, Hartwell said.
The camp will start with a ropes course, designed to build trust, at the Montgomery County Recreation Center.
If trust is established early, the teen-agers will lean on each other and complete assigned tasks, and this will make the rest of the trip a success, Hartwell said.
Teen-agers will spend the second day hiking at White Rocks Campground. At day's end they will have a counseling session with Hartwell and other leaders who are certified mental health professionals, many from St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital near Radford.
"This will give them a chance to discuss their individual problems and find positive solutions and alternatives which they might not have known existed," Hartwell said.
The final day, the teen-agers will climb rocks and explore caves at Fools Face in McCoy, then end the day with another counseling session.
After the camping trip, Hartwell said, she hopes to turn the group into a regular organization that will meet weekly so the teen-agers have something to look forward to.
"Clubhouse Teen" is the proposed name of the group. It will supplement Camp CARE by providing ongoing reinforcement of the behaviors and attitudes learned at the camp.
by CNB