Equity and Identity Off-Season Road Map

Inclusion at Summer CampInclusion & Community Building

Sep 24

By Chris T. Rehs-Dupin, Transplaining

There is so much to love about summer camp. This isn’t a surprise to anyone who may be reading this. We execute in 3 months what many people execute in 12… and we often come back for more. For many camp professionals (except for the superhuman camp folks who roll straight into afterschool programs and teaching) we spend our Augusts questioning ourselves, and our Septembers napping. We wake up in October hungry, and prepared to change the world again in 8 months that go by quicker than we can imagine (it happens every year- and still I am surprised when I look up in March and don’t know how to fit all the pieces together by June) . This aspect of the life of a camp professional has always been enticing, as it has been comforting. Our lives fall into a natural rhythm of building, into excitement, into mayhem, into rest. We dust off our khaki cargo shorts (or other bottoms of choice), we collect ourselves and we re-engage. But we have reached a point in our profession when we must be thoughtful about our building so that it includes the intentional injection of equity and justice into our programs. We know that camp can not only change lives but save the lives of the most vulnerable amongst us. As we spend our September resting, and reflecting- we need to be keenly focused on how we will spend the rest of our planning season creating positive spaces for campers of all backgrounds so that they have equitable and safe access to the life changing benefit that camps have and will continue to deliver.

Phase 1: Education and Assessment

We cannot know what those who have been systemically left out of traditional camp spaces need, until we seek out education on the lived experiences of these folks. If we use our insular, predominately white, middle class, cisgender, heterosexual industry as our only guide, those who exist on the margins, and campers with similar lived experience will remain on the margins. During your early planning of camp- imagine what would happen if you brought in and gave voice to those who have been systematically left out in the past. What does it feel like to be a BIPOC camper in a space that is predominantly white? What does it feel like to come from a family with two moms when your camp counselor says “Your Mom and Dad would be so proud!”? When a non-binary camper is considering coming to camp- do they shut down when they have to select between “male” and “female” on the camp registration documents? How does it feel when your counselors want to keep your schedule a “surprise” but your neurodivergence requires access and understanding of what will come next? What is it like to be the kid who shows up to a no “flip-flops” camp in flip flops because those are the only shoes that they have? Listening to professionals within our community, who have lived these moments- and have the expertise to help guide you towards change can help shed light on antiquated practices that don’t create open, inclusive spaces for all. They can also help you sculpt a vision of change for the future.

During this early stage, we should be working to educate our camp leadership, our board, and our major stakeholders. For radically inclusive policies to be successful, all those people have to possess a baseline understanding that this is the direction your camp is heading, and simultaneously understand that inclusion is not up for debate. Radically inclusive camps understand that including those who have traditionally been left on the margins may require leaving people behind who wish to maintain exclusive policies that do not provide equitable access to representation, safety, and positive community for all. It is during this stage that we must continually remind ourselves that we need to focus on who we may gain, instead of fearing who we may lose.

After we have educated ourselves on what campers from all backgrounds need to thrive in our spaces, it is time to assess what we want to tackle this year, next year, and in five years. Your assessment should include an inventory of your major program areas, how campers from all backgrounds could feel left out, or unsafe in those areas and what your next steps will be to alleviate that discomfort. When you get overwhelmed- breathe. Identify what you can tackle- and tackle it.

Phase 2: Policy and Operational Updates

Once you have identified areas in your camp programs or policies, which may have been intentionally or unintentionally excluding folks- the natural next step is to work to solve it! Remember- we are looking for progress not perfection. During the policy and operational update phase you will identify what resources you will need to repair problematic areas of your program. This could include ensuring that appropriate training is included in your operating budget for next year, or any additional facility or program supplies that are necessary. Having played the budget game for a long time, it is important to understand that facilities and programs that provide equitable safety should be a priority. Instead of defaulting to “we cannot afford this”- we need to be challenging ourselves with “what do we need to do to afford this”, and “if we cannot afford all of this- what parts can we afford.”

Camps must be realistic about what they can accomplish within their means (whether that is money, time, staffing, or leadership support)- but should ultimately understand that creating more equitable practices should not be an optional project. It should be made a priority- and given the resources that are needed to make it a reality. Even if you were running short on time during staff training- you wouldn’t forego the lifeguarding course- because it could cost lives (amongst other legal standards of care). Creating inclusive policies, when done correctly- can also save lives. The Trevor Project National Survey on Mental Health tells us that for LGBTQ students enrolled in a school that was affirming and accepting- their suicide risk was cut almost in half- from 20% to 11%. Camps- like schools- can be the inclusive community that helps young people build the resilience they need to live in a world that isn’t always as kind as they deserve.

During this stage, be sure to consult with experts with lived experience to help guide your progress. It is unrealistic to think that folks that come from a majority white demographic will be able to understand all of the unique needs of BIPOC campers. Equally, an all cisgender and heterosexual leadership team will not be able to relay the importance of safe spaces for LGBTQ campers in the same ways that an expert with lived experience in LGBTQ inclusion will. There are brilliant camp professionals who are doing this work- and your job is to get the right voices at the table to ensure that no one’s needs are left out. Additionally- it is important to show respect to those folks, and their work by compensating them fairly. Those of us that work in the field of social justice know- it is incredibly rewarding, and also incredibly difficult work that often involves substantial emotional labor.

As you start to really identify ways your programs and policies need to be updated- be aware that communication with parents about these changes is important. But I want to be clear- it is not necessary to ASK parents for permission to become a more radically inclusive camp. I stress that you keep them in communication about the changes- not so they can convince you NOT to do it- but so that when you roll these changes out you have frontloaded your expectations regarding the equitable treatment of campers from vulnerable and/or minority populations. Blindsiding parents with inclusive policies will often manifest in additional damage done to the campers and staff you are working to include. Some of the best advice I can give is to try and come up with the critical questions that parents will pose, and have prepared answers that affirm your position while showing solidarity with the campers and staff you are working to make equitable space for.

Phase 3: Staff Preparation and Implementation

With big changes- come big training. The best laid policies and programs lose their strength pretty quickly without frontline staff buy-in and proficiency. Preparing staff to meet this moment is one of the most essential steps in this process. Not only do staff need to be able to execute your new policies with confidence, they also need to be able to engage in dialogue with campers of all ages about why the changes are occurring, why they are important to all campers in the community, and be able to diffuse harmful conversations that may occur that target vulnerable minorities in our camp community. This is a tall order- especially when you are trying to also teach a bunch of 16-25 year olds about how camp dishes get done, the safe way to roast marshmallows with 1st graders, how to convince scared campers to use the bathroom with spiders around and a slew of emergency procedures for all different types of catastrophic events. In all honesty- your equity training should never be confined to a 1 hour classroom session with a PowerPoint, and a lecture. Training about the responsible care of marginalized camper groups should be woven into the fabric of your entire orientation. We should be talking about inclusion alongside teaching programming. What does it look like to make sure that everyone feels safe during swim tests? Are there behaviors that pop up at the gaga pit that are rooted in systemic bias? What are best practices for first day intros that make everyone feel comfortable and valued, and that also take into account varying levels of social anxiety? To truly live a mission of radical inclusion of all persons we have to bring our staff to the point that they understand how to use an intersectional lens to problem solve behavioral situations, as well build a respectful community that mitigates the harm that is often done to minority and minoritized communities.

Conclusion

The work starts now- and bad news/good news is, it will never end. Evaluating your camp’s practices for cultural responsiveness should be an annual process as our social landscape is ever evolving. Camp is one of the best places on earth, but one of our focuses as an industry moving forward must be equitable safe access. Being able to not only have access, but feel safe and welcome should be a reality for all youth- not just the ones who have traditionally been able to enjoy these benefits.

Want to learn more from Chris, and get started with your equity practices? Join him for a three-week seminar starting October 6, 2021, about setting up gender-inclusive housing at your overnight camp.

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