Friendship, Fresh Air, and Finding Your Way Forward: A Child Life Specialists Perspective on Why Grieving Children and Teens Should Attend Chameleon’s Journey Grief Camp
- Chameleon's Journey
- Aug 12
- 3 min read
By: Brittany Luther, MEd., CCLS
Friendship, Fresh Air, and Finding Your Way Forward: A Child Life Specialists Perspective on Why Grieving Children and Teens Should Attend Chameleon’s Journey Grief Camp
When you arrive with your child or teen to camp you see the cabins, the smiling staff, and the bags are packed with bug spray, silly costumes and cozy blankets. They might also have an extra “lovie,” a snuggly sweatshirt that smells like Dad (and hasn’t been washed because it still smells just like he did), a special t-shirt spritzed with mom’s favorite perfume, or maybe a little journal with a handwritten note in their special persons handwriting. Your child might be holding on with a little extra hesitation. You see, some children transition easily and some children transition with tears in their eyes.
There is a lot you can see and observe, but what you can’t see is the magic that begins the moment the last car pulls away. It’s a kind of magic that only happens when kids are free to soar through a ropes course, sing around campfires, and live fully in the moment—without phones, without their grown-ups, or distractions. It’s a kind of magic that turns camp into more than just a place. It becomes a feeling. A rhythm. A place of connection, a place of belonging and a place where kids and teenagers really feel to their core, “I am not alone.”
Camp is full of traditions, inside jokes, and meaningful moments that are hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t been here—and that’s part of what makes it so special. But you see, Chameleon’s Journey is different. It is different because not only does it give kids and teens an opportunity to laugh and play, connect and create, sing and dance… it also gives kids and teens the chance to look around at all of the faces and really SEE that they are not the only kid or teen who has lost a significant loved one in their life.
At Kindermourn, a local non-profit in Charlotte, we say “No child grieves alone.” At Chameleon’s Journey, no child grieves alone and the support that is woven through the tapestry of camp is palpable in every word, every step, every activity, every hug and every pat on the back. Support and community is the core of camp and it is why as a Child Life Specialist supporting families both in the hospital and community settings, I encourage all families with children old enough to attend camp to consider attending Chameleon’s Journey.
At Chameleons Journey, your child steps into a space where their feelings are seen, heard, and completely understood. They meet other kids who “get it,” not because they’ve read about grief, but because they’ve lived it. In that shared understanding, something powerful happens: walls come down, friendships form, and healing begins—together. It’s not just about talking through loss; it’s about laughing around a campfire, making art, playing games, and realizing joy can still live alongside sorrow.
Chameleon’s Journey is more than an event—it’s a community. And for a grieving child, that community can be a lifeline. This is a place where every story is honored, and where healing begins in the laughter between tears. In that shared space, kids discover they’re not alone, and sometimes, that’s the first real step toward hope.
About the Author:
Brittany Luther has been a practicing Certified Child Life Specialist for almost 20 years, working with infants, toddlers, children, adolescents, and family units her entire career. The breadth of her work includes time in the Emergency Department and Inpatient Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit before opening her own private practice, the realization of a dream come true. She is also a longtime friend of Chameleon’s Journey and will be serving as a community volunteer for the 26th Annual Fall Overnight Grief Camp.
Register for an Upcoming Event:
To learn more about Chameleon’s Journey Camp or VIA Health Partners, visit www.chameleonsjourney.org or www.viahp.org.
To learn more about Volunteering with VIA Health Partners, visit us at:
About VIA Health Partners
VIA Health Partners began as Hospice at Charlotte, the state’s first hospice, in 1978 and then operated under the name Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region (HPCCR) for decades before its name change to VIA Health Partners in 2023. Today VIA Health Partners serves 3,500 patients each day for hospice and palliative care services. Our service area encompasses 14 counties in North Carolina--Burke, Catawba, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Polk, Rutherford, Stanly, and Union. Its service area in South Carolina includes Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union, and York counties.
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