Texas officials are requiring youth camps to have weather alert systems, mandated emergency preparedness plans, and various communication methods to help children and their families feel safe when they return this summer. But one thing is still missing from the state plan that some camp leaders say would ensure complete safety at all camps — initiatives to address the mental health of those returning to a place of tragedy.
After the devastating July
4 Hill Country floods that killed at least 137 people, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, those who are expected to return to Texas camps this summer could be dealing with the fear of the water, extreme emotions during weather events, consistent nightmares, and more.
“After the flooding, we were hearing from parents and schools that when there was just a simple rainstorm, many of their kids were very, very distressed,” said Julie Kaplow, a licensed clinical psychologist and executive vice president of trauma and grief programs at Dallas-based The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.
One of the primary challenges in addressing the mental health needs of campers, staff and their families is that they are spread out across the state, only coming together during the summer. Resources have been poured into Texas Hill Country for flood victims, but for campers and their families who might live miles away, this does little to help.
Camp owners say this is why camps should be better prepared for their return.
“I am in 100% support of engaging in the physical safety, but I think it has distracted a little bit from the importance of focusing on other aspects of wellness,” Brandon G. Briery, chief program officer at Centerpoint-based Camp Camp, said.
State lawmakers over the summer passed House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 requiring camps to address various safety measures including emergency preparedness plans and communication systems, but they gave no guidance to camps on how to serve the mental health needs of campers and staff.
Keli Rabon, a Houston mother whose sons survived the flood at Camp Junta, told lawmakers three weeks after the Hill Country flood during a committee hearing in Kerrville, that for her family the storm wasn’t over. She said her son scans every room for higher ground, checks the weather constantly and battles nightmares of water dripping from the ceiling, and she has been struggling to find the mental health resources to help him.
“I have asked the camp. I have asked FEMA. The answer is the same: ‘Sorry, we don’t know what to tell you. You are in Houston,’” Rabon said demanding that mental health care be a central, funded part of the state’s disaster response. “… I shouldn’t have to rely on a Facebook group of volunteers to find trauma care for my children.”
Sens. Pete Flores of Pleasanton and Charles Perry of Lubbock, who were committee chair and vice chair of the flood investigation committee and authors and co-sponsors of SB 1 and HB 1, did not respond to interview requests about mental health resources. Gov. Greg Abbott ’s office forwarded questions about mental health resources for camps to Texas Health and Human Services, which did not provide information by the story’s publication.
Even before the flood, the mental wellness of campers and staff had been a growing concern for camp leaders. As youth mental health has declined across Texas and the country over the past six years, camp directors have reported multiple campers coming in with signs of anxiety and other mental illnesses, and staff — usually college students and young adults — with signs of depression and other more severe mental health problems.
This has led organizations like the American Camp Association, in collaboration with the Alliance for Camp Health and supported by the H.E. Butt Foundation, to create a six-hour mental wellness training program called CampWell to teach staff how to listen and regulate their emotions. This skill can be used for campers and themselves.
Briery, whose six-year term on the state’s Youth Camp Program Advisory Committee ended in August, said he and several others had been advocating for the state’s camp licensing board to consider adding higher-level training requirements for staff to address mental health concerns. He said a work group had been created around the topic and was supposed to convene after the summer camp season ended, but the July 4 flood put those plans on hold — right when it was needed most.
“While the physical safety of our camp community is what’s on everyone’s top of mind right now after the events of July, we have to look at the entire person’s safety, and that includes mental wellness,” Briery said.
When news about the tragedy at Camp Mystic reached Laity Lodge Youth Camp in Leakey, it was like the world had been turned upside down. Laity staff members mourned the deaths as if they were their own while they answered the anxiety-riddled questions of their young campers. The portion of the East Frio River that butts up against them — a source of joy for so many of them before it was shuttered for the rest of the summer — became a grim reminder of the tragedy that unfolded just 36 miles away.
“When I think of the summer, it is split into two parts. Pre-flood and post-flood, because everything felt so different. There was this heaviness afterwards,” said Blayze Sykes, the camp supervisor for Laity Lodge.
Over the past decade, Texas has faced numerous natural disasters, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Bastrop Complex Fire in 2011, the 2021 winter storm, and, most recently, the catastrophic flash flood in the Texas Hill Country.
Kaplow said each year, more Texas children are becoming survivors of natural disasters, creating a generation of weather anxiety-filled youth.
A study by the Society for Research in Child Development found that as many as 50% of children report post-traumatic stress symptoms after experiencing a disaster, such as recurring thoughts about the disaster, hypervigilance, or difficulty sleeping or concentrating. Children exposed to natural disasters also often experience symptoms of depression and anxiety.
A study of the Greater Houston area from 2019 to 2023 found that successive weather disasters and events had an effect on emergency department visits for depression and anxiety. It found distinct seasonal patterns, with specific periods, consistently showing higher demand for mental health services.
Weather-related mental illness can be complex to diagnose in children at first glance because their actions mirror ADHD symptoms, Kaplow said. Children affected with weather-related trauma may be hypervigilant, which might appear as though they are easily distracted.
Other signs can range from a student exhausted at their desk in the classroom to obvious signs of crying or becoming aggressive toward other peers.
“It’s not enough to intervene in the immediate aftermath. We want to make sure people recognize that this will be a long-term effort to help kids heal,” said Kaplow.
Abbott launched a free statewide counseling service for those affected by the floods, the Texas Flooding Emotional Support Line, but camp directors say more can be done.
Experts say one of the best ways policymakers can support children affected by disasters is to increase access to mental health services, including therapists, school counselors, grief therapy and medication.
While camp can’t be the replacement for professional mental health treatment, studies have found that well-structured mental health programs at camps can counter struggles regarding depression, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, and difficulty forming positive peer relationships in young people.
“The time is now. Suppose there were ever a time to give attention to mental well-being at camp, to create an environment where it thrives. In that case, it’s now,” said Cary Hendricks, executive director of Laity Lodge Camping Programs.
Families seeking to disconnect their children from technology have long turned to summer camps to help them immerse in nature. Mental health experts have also promoted the benefits of nature-focused camps for children’s emotional well-being.
But, what happens when the outdoors becomes the reason for grief?
“We know, and frankly, take it for granted that so many camps are in the outdoors and therefore have that kind of restorative benefit for campers and staff. The events of July 4 reminded us that those elements are also hazardous and destructive,” said Laurie Pearson, the senior director of innovation and learning for the American Camp Association.
Camps across Texas are wrestling with trying to maintain the summer-camp feel of the past for campers and staff who are now very aware of the dangers that surround them.
“I know we have already had campers signed up who have experienced very traumatic things, so that is where we are focused on. What can we do?” said Meg Clark, owner of Camp Waldemar.
Pearson said the CampWell program, a skills-based training course on building resilience, teaches staffers and campers how to regulate their emotions, like fear and anxiety, using methods such as breathing exercises, activities, conversation, and other non-medical means.
Camps who go through CampWell training try to create a safe, supported and connected environment among staff who can then model and teach relevant skills to campers. This in-person program evaluates a camp’s culture, including its training and screening processes and programs, to ensure it promotes mental and physical well-being.
Fifteen camps in Texas began implementing the CampWell program earlier this year. Little did these camp directors know how necessary this training would be for staff later that summer, when the flood required them not only to deal with their own emotions but also to address the emotions of hundreds of young campers who had a slew of questions about what happened. Those who went through the training said it helped them by teaching them emotional regulation techniques like breathing exercises and confidence building.
Sykes said in the months after the flood, the CampWell program has helped Laity’s staff build their own community of support.
“Looking back at it, the greatest resource we had was each other,” Sykes, staff manager at Laity Bird Lodge campgrounds, said.
Hendricks said lawmakers have the opportunity to lay the foundation for a better future for youth mental health, and it should start with youth summer camps.
“The same way that the state requires us to do proper lifeguard training and food services, what if mental health were equally as important, and what if camps were required to do some mental well-being training? We would love to see that future,” he said.
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Jessica Shuran Yu contributed reporting.
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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
