Apply for Free, Youth Grief Support Camp Hosted by Hospice By The Bay ...(and how you feel. You don't feel so alon...),Health

Campers will also have opportunities to express their feelings about the loss of their loved ones and learn ways to cope with their grief. A study by Ewalt & Perkins suggests that approximately 90 percent of youngsters will experience the loss of a family member or close friend before finishing high school. Research also indicates these children are at a much greater risk for depression, suicide, poverty, and substance abuse.

Hospice By The Bay, a non-profit, regional hospice and palliative care organization, has long recognized that children need grief support different than that for adults. As part of its Youth Bereavement Program, which offers youth a full range of counseling services, Hospice hosted its first Youth Bereavement Camp in 2001.

Hospice hosts Camp Erin Oakland/Bay Area in partnership with The Moyer Foundation, which supplied partial grant funding for annual camps through 2018. The Seattle-based foundation was established by Major League All-Star pitcher Jamie Moyer and his wife Karen with a long-term goal of establishing 50 camps nationwide to support grieving children in cities with Major League Baseball teams. This year, 28 Camp Erin weekends will be held in 18 states. The foundation's Campaign for Kids is a national fundraising effort to continue to expand Camp Erin across the country.

The Oakland Athletics and A's third baseman Eric Chavez and his wife Alex are advocates for Camp Erin Oakland/Bay Area. Michael Crowley, Oakland Athletics President, says, "The Oakland A's organization is honored to be a part of The Moyer Foundation and its efforts to support grieving children through its Camp Erin efforts in
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