A Pirates game this summer will be the site of a reunion for those who have benefited from Camp Erin, a grief support camp for children and teens in Fombell, Beaver County.

“Back in 2007 my dad had passed away,” said Alison Perry, 19.

She was 12 when she and her siblings went to Camp Erin.

Perry of Monroeville is a freshman math and secondary education major at Duquesne University. She went to Camp Erin six times and will return this year as a volunteer.

“One of my favorite things about it was all of the kids were going through the same thing. Sometimes your friends at school and home don’t understand what you’re going through,” she said.

For this year’s Camp Erin running June 12 to 14, Heather Beachler, director for Camp Erin-Pittsburgh, expects 115 campers ranging in age from 6 to 17 to take part at YMCA Camp Kon-O-Kwee Spencer.

“It’s a traditional, fun, high-energy camp combined with grief education, peer bonding and emotional support,” said Beachler.

Camp Erin-Pittsburgh is a partnership between Good Samaritan Hospice, a mission of Concordia Lutheran Ministries; the Moyer Foundation; and Camp Kon-O-Kwee Spencer.

The Moyer Foundation, founded by Jamie Moyer and his wife, Karen, created and funds Camp Erin-Pittsburgh and similar camps nationwide.

“Moyer was a champion pitcher for Major League Baseball,” Beachler said. “The Moyer Foundation partners with every MLB team, so for us we partner with the Pittsburgh Pirates.”

“Everyone is there for you, and it’s a feeling of safety. You can pretty much put it all out there. You can say anything you need to say. You can cry if you need to cry. You can be angry if you need to be angry,” Perry said. “I’m the oldest of five siblings. Sometimes I just feel the need to be that bigger person and care for all of them. At camp there was a time for me to cry and let it out.”

“We encourage them to write letters to themselves and the person who has passed,” said six-year camp volunteer Robert Lorence. “There is a lot of art and crafts activities that are used to remember the person who died or to visibly reflect emotion.”

Lorence of Cranberry Township returns each year because of the impact he sees the camp having.

“You see the kids growing from Friday to Sunday,” he said. “It’s a freeing experience that the kid can learn ‘I can grieve and I can still have fun.’”

Beachler said children express their grief in many ways, including behavior problems and drug and alcohol use.

“They are all serving purposes but there could be healthier ways,” she said. “The camp helps kids to learn how to journal. It provides feeling words so they can describe what they are feeling and utilize support systems that they might not realize that they have, such as a teacher, an aunt, a neighbor.”

This is Perry’s first year as a volunteer and a “big buddy.”

Small groups of big buddies stay with the same small group of campers throughout the weekend.

“My big buddies were very influential and they really helped me to keep moving through everything,” she said.

Now she wants to help other children and give back for what the camp did for her.

“There’s a lot of peer support through conversation and a lot of that is driven by the volunteers,” Lorence said. “It’s small groups or one-on-one. You ask them questions that get them talking about their experiences.”

He said volunteers are trained in several sessions during the weeks before camp. The sessions include training to understand and help grieving children. Volunteers also learn about available resources.

“You can never be over prepared,” Lorence said.

“This year, the camp will have about 100 volunteers,” Beachler said. “They are caring and selfless and empathetic and passionate about volunteering.”

This year’s volunteers were recruited in the fall to allow time for interviews, reference checking, clearances and training. But, Beachler said, there is still room for other community contributions.

“For instance, sometimes we need resources like art supplies,” Beachler said. “It depends on the community business or what they have access to.”

Right now the camp is looking for first-time campers. There is no cost to attend the camp except travel costs to and from camp.

“We have plenty of spots open for campers,” Beachler said. “We don’t put a time limit on grief.”

Potential campers and their guardians are interviewed to be sure the camp is a good fit.

“This camp is for the kid that has a significant death in their life. It doesn’t have to be a parent or sibling,” Lorence said. “If there was a strong bond that was broken by the death, they can benefit from the camp.”

“We have a blast at camp. We laugh. We play games. By the end of the weekend you’re tired from laughing and running around. It’s really fun,” he said.

“I just cannot even imagine what I would be like if I didn’t go to camp since I feel like it was a very big part of my life and I loved it,” Perry said.

For more information, visit www.camperinpittsburgh.org or call 800-720-2557.