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CNN Live Today
Director, Camper Discuss Camp for 9/11 Kids
Aired April 24, 2002 - 11:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: It has been just over seven months since the September 11 attacks. Neither time nor words can measure the anguish of losing a loved one. One woman tried to capture her sense of loss in a poem, and this poem was read by actress Mary Tyler Moore on the six-month milestone of those attacks.
Let's listen in to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY TYLER MOORE, ACTRESS: "How My Life Has Changed," a poem by Hillary North (ph), an employee of the AON Corporation which lost 176 people on September 11.
I can no longer flirt with Lou. I can no longer dance with Myra (ph). I can no longer eat brownies with Suzanne Y (ph). I can no longer meet the deadline with Marc (ph). I can no longer talk to George about his daughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Well we have some special guests today. We're lucky enough to have that daughter with us. Hilary Strauch lost her father, George, in the World Trade Center collapse, and she's learning that she's not alone. She will be going to Comfort Zone Camp, a free getaway for kids who lost family members in the attacks.
Lynne Hughes, the executive director of that camp, joins Hilary and me to talk about that.
Ladies, good morning, thanks for joining us.
LYNNE HUGHES, COMFORT ZONE CAMP: Good morning.
HILARY STRAUCH, COMFORT ZONE CAMPER: Morning.
HUGHES: Thank you for having us.
KAGAN: Hilary, I'd like to start with you. First I'd kind of just like to get to know a little bit about you. What grade are you in?
STRAUCH: I'm in sixth grade.
KAGAN: Sixth grade. You missing school today?
STRAUCH: Yes.
KAGAN: All right, we'll write you a note.
Any brothers or sisters?
STRAUCH: No, I'm an only child.
KAGAN: Tell us more about your dad.
STRAUCH: He was a great guy. He's a very family-oriented man. He would always take me to Yankee games and to the circus and to symphonies.
KAGAN: I can't even imagine how hard the last seven months has been...
STRAUCH: Yes.
KAGAN: ... with your -- without your dad.
Lynne, you might have a better idea, you lost both your parents at a young age.
HUGHES: Right. My mother died when I was nine, real suddenly, and then my father died two-and-a-half years later from a massive heart attack so.
KAGAN: And so you put together these camps. You've done a camp like this before.
HUGHES: Right. We're in our fourth year of running camps. And we had started running camps in Richmond, Virginia and serving kids across the country who had lost a parent, sibling or primary caregiver, but when September 11 happened, we were aware that there were no such programs in New Jersey and very little in New York. So we brought up our core group of volunteers and our program and are providing it to the 9/11 families. And this will actually be our third time up here but our first weekend sleepover camp for these families.
KAGAN: Right. So, Hilary, you've gone for a day.
STRAUCH: Actually, I went to two camps (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
KAGAN: You did. And what you'd do...
STRAUCH: Yes.
KAGAN: ... at the camp?
STRAUCH: We -- first we played a lot of games to help us cope with our tragedy. And then at the end we went into these circles and talked about our -- who we lost and how we feel about it.
KAGAN: And so you were there with other kids who have been experiencing something very similar?
STRAUCH: Yes.
KAGAN: And how is that good and how is that helpful? And I'm sure you have a lot of friends but friends who maybe can't understand exactly the difficulty that you're having right now.
STRAUCH: Yes. There are a lot of people at camp -- Comfort Zone Camp that they know how I feel and they can help me along the way and they teach me how it's OK to feel how I'm feeling.
KAGAN: Lynne, when we look at the pictures, it looks like camp. I mean it looks -- it looks fun. How is it different and how do you -- you don't want this just to be -- just to focus the kids on the loss? I would imagine you're looking for a balance of kids who understand and adults who understand, but at the same time, you want the kids to have some fun as well.
HUGHES: Right. We do a mixture of small grief groups called Healing Circles, which is what Hilary is talking about, where it's led by a trained grief counselor and each one has a theme associated with it. And then we also do an arts and crafts project that ties in with each of the theme of the healing circles because some kids can express themselves better verbally and some kids can express themselves better through the art expression. And then the rest of the weekend we do a couple hours out on a ropes course, doing different trust building and team building exercises.
And then we do all kinds of mindless, wear them out camp fun activities. We have a magician come in. We have a bonfire with a sing-along and Smores. We have free time where they can fish or play kickball or you know. So it's definitely so these kids can come face to face and see other kids and make those connections and know that they're not alone. And hopefully make some friends that can carry over outside of camp that they can tap into when they're having both good days and bad days.
KAGAN: One thing I found fascinating, this isn't going to cost a penny to the -- to the kids or the families, being underwritten by the rock group Creed?
HUGHES: Right, they have a foundation called With Arms Wide Open and we're very fortunate to have them underwriting the cost. It's wonderful.
KAGAN: Well that is excellent for them, for you, Lynne Hughes, and also for kids like Hilary.
Hilary, have a great time this weekend.
STRAUCH: Yes, thank you.
KAGAN: That's great. Thank you for your efforts and thanks for sharing more about the camp.
STRAUCH: You're welcome. KAGAN: Lynne Hughes and Hilary Strauch, great to have you with us.
HUGHES: Thanks for having us.
KAGAN: Thank you so much.
STRAUCH: Bye.
KAGAN: Bye-bye.
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