Pilot youth camp a success for Wombat’s Wish

A NEW camp for bereaved children has completed its pilot run at Queenscliff’s Cottage by the Sea with promising results.

Child bereavement organisation Wombat’s Wish held its first youth camp for a dozen children last month and manager Nicki Dunne said she is already advocating for more.

“I’m investigating the viability of potentially running these camps every six months, as opposed to annually,” Ms Dunne said.

“After attending the camp myself, I saw that it had a really good impact on the kids who attended.

“We’re going to need an extra camp quite simply to meet the demand. People are becoming more aware of Wombat’s Wish and what we offer across the state.

“But children seeking to take on the Youth Camp will need to attend our Family Camp first.”

Funded through the Anthony Costa Foundation, the weekend camp facilitated group work for participants alongside other bereaved children without parents in attendance, which is a different approach to Wombat’s Wish’s Family Camps held throughout the year.

The workshops held at the camp allowed children to learn new techniques to deal with grief and develop healthy coping mechanisms without taking on risky behaviours.

A doctor also attended the camp to address questions that participants wrote down, informing young people of different solutions while going through difficult times.

“It was certainly a safe space which was one of the sole purposes of the camp, in addition to teaching the kids healthier ways to deal with grief,” Ms Dunne said.

“We had a bunch of fun activities planned as well, things like a boat trip to see the seals and dolphins, but unfortunately due to weather, that particular activity was cancelled.

“Instead we implemented several beach walks, a bit of “chill-out” time, cards, board games and some additional counselling as well. It was a great venue to conduct a camp like this.”

Funding provided by the Anthony Costa Foundation has confirmed the Youth Camp to run for two more years.

Families are not charged to have their children attend a Wombat’s Wish camp.