See You at Camp – Reuniting Loved Ones in Unusual Times

I always counted myself lucky that even though my sister and I were in separate foster homes at some point in our childhood that we never lost touch and saw each other on a regular basis.

Not the case for a lot of siblings who are torn apart when the family is disintegrated due to abuse or neglect and Child Protective Services steps in. Many, once close, often lose that connection and may not see their sister or brother for years and in some cases, not till adulthood.

Now, a former foster child, having lived in foster care till age 21, has come up with an ingenious idea to keep these kids connected dedicated to reuniting siblings placed in separate foster homes or other out-of-home care.

At Camp To Belong (CTB), an international, non-profit 501�© (3) organization, brothers and sisters are reunited who have been put in foster, adoptive, or kinship homes through summer camp programs since 1995.

Headquartered in Colorado, CTB Summer Camp Colorado serves as a host to sibling groups and volunteer counselors across the U.S., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada.

Their flagship events are their programs during which they reunite siblings in a safe, neutral, week-long camp environment to create childhood memories otherwise lost together that they would not have because of living in separate homes.

Camp to Belong was started by Lynn Price but it’s not about finding a sibling.

They may not have the chance to practice Christmas carols together at night, make cookies, attend each other’s school choir concerts, or share fun birthdays – all the things that typical siblings get to do each day.

There are over 580,000 children in foster care across the U.S.

Sixty-five to eighty-five percent of children entering the foster care system have at least one sibling according to stats.

Thirty percent of children in foster care have four siblings or more, according to camptobelong.org.

Seventy-five percent of siblings end up apart when they enter foster care, the site says.

Three out of four children placed in foster care are separated from at least one sibling like my sister and I though we lived in the same city, thankfully.

Stephen expressed his gratitude on the camp’s website along with countless others for being able to spend time with his brother Bryce.

In a traumatic time such as a CPS investigation it’s so crucial that siblings stay together if possible, because they need each other for support, stability, strength, and spirit.

I just got back from taking my sister to the airport after she came to visit me out in Texas for a couple of days.

Driving there the other night to pick her up I was reminded again of all the many times we said hello again and goodbye, Kodak memories folded into neatly lined photo albums in my mind, shuffling like a deck of cards on a busy poker night.

Tucked under my pillow like the Tooth Fairy money she used to leave me.