Last summer, Esmeralda Vivar and her brother Ivan Vivar spent most of their time staring at screens.
This summer, the 13- and 11-year-olds met new friends, played board games, made crafts and went on field trips.
The siblings are among 15 children who live at Oxnard’s Dolores Huerta Gardens Apartments — an affordable housing development for farmworkers and their families — and participated in the Summer to Remember pilot program.
For many children, including the sister and brother, the eight-week program hosted by Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme was their first time in summer camp.
“It was born out of need,” said Erin Antrim, CEO of the local Boys & Girls Club. “I hope it provides
an opportunity for kids that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.”
Cabrillo offers after-school programs for residents at Dolores Huerta Gardens Apartments and the majority of its other 25 properties in Ventura County, but the affordable housing nonprofit has never collaborated with another organization before to develop a more expansive program.
Last fall, Cabrillo partnered with the local Boys & Girls Club to develop Summer to Remember during a three-day training event by NeighborWorks America, a congressionally chartered national nonprofit striving to expand affordable housing.
The initiative, which includes academic, recreational and creative activities, runs from June 22 through Aug. 14 and was fully funded by $12,500 in grants from NeighborWorks America and First Citizens Bank.
“Affordable housing isn’t just about having a roof over your head but allowing families to thrive long term, and services that we offer like this are how we turn our housing into genuine upward mobility for the next generation,” Cabrillo CEO Victoria Brady said. “Seeing the kids in our community continue on to lead successful, stable lives is what we're looking for.”
But the two teams understand that for many families living in affordable housing communities, especially those intended for farmworkers, the barriers to summer enrichment programs can be insurmountable.
Many programs can be expensive, and even if school districts offer more affordable camps, they require transportation to and from campus at a time when most parents are working.
Antrim and Brady said students who are not involved in summer enrichment programs can experience what is known as the summer slide, regressing in academics before the school year starts.
Making the program both free and on-site was a priority for the two organizations.
“It’s important for us to meet young people where they're at and try to remove any barriers for families so we could make sure that all kids are participating in a high-quality summer program,” Antrim said.
Esperanza Solano, Esmeralda and Ivan’s mother, speaking in Spanish said transportation has stopped her from signing her children up for other summer programs in the past. Not having to worry about how her children get to summer camp has made the summer less stressful. They can just walk a few steps from their unit to the community room.
“I find it very good,” she said in Spanish. “We’ve enjoyed it because they are here where we live, and they don’t need to leave.”
If the siblings weren’t in the program, she said, they would likely be staying in their rooms, using their phones or tablets and doing nothing.
Instead, Esmeralda has enjoyed doing arts and crafts. Her proudest piece is a paper cutout of her hands shaped like a heart.
“I’m really into art,” she said. “It’s something special because you can do it, and there’s a meaning behind it.”
Ivan’s favorite day was spent taking a boat to one of the Channel Islands and learning about the ocean.
“It was fun,” he said. “We saw whales, and we saw dolphins, too.”
They both want to come to the summer camp again next year, and their mom agrees.
“I have seen the program have a positive impact,” Solano said. “I feel like it's helped them not be in their rooms, shut in, and do more activities.”
Amanda Cervantes, one of the Boys & Girls Club staff members, said the group of children has benefited from the structure of the program, becoming more respectful and organized. She said she hopes she can make a positive influence on their futures.
“It’s very important to have the youth engaged because at this age they’re easily influenced, and we have the power to point them in the right direction,” Cervantes said. “It’s a great gateway for them to realize they have a voice, they are heard and they are cared for.”
Cabrillo and the Boys & Girls Club plan to offer Summer to Remember again next year and gradually expand it to other affordable housing communities in the county.
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard summer camp breaks barriers for children in affordable housing
