Congratulations to Foyle Women’s Aid and the Foyle Family Justice Centre on the launch of the first Camp Hope outside the USA last week. As an off-site partner of the FFJC, we were delighted to be represented alongside victim-survivors, domestic abuse support workers, funders, the PSNI, social workers, politicians, and other partners and supporters on a glorious day to celebrate the opening of this new project in Derry~Londonderry.
Camp Hope Northern Ireland is an affiliate of Camp Hope America, the leading mentoring and summer camp in the US for children and young people affected by domestic abuse. Marie Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the Foyle Family Justice Centre and Foyle Women’s Aid, has worked with her team to turn the dream of creating a Camp Hope in the North West into reality.
‘This is an important step in the provision of support for young people impacted by domestic abuse in Northern Ireland. Camp Hope is a place where child survivors of domestic abuse can be kids again and heal’, Marie said.
Camp Hope is a unique, transformative summer camp experience with year-round mentoring to help young victims of domestic abuse to recover and to build hope for the future.
The specially designed campus will be the venue for activities such glamping, outdoor pursuits, barbecuing, games and stories by the fireside.
Young people will take part in the first camp this summer focusing on personal growth, education, helping them to develop resilience, achieve goals and create brighter futures.
Colum Eastwood MP officially opened Camp Hope, saying,
‘I am delighted to be supporting this incredibly important project by Foyle Women’s Aid. It is an important reminder that domestic abuse has a deep and lasting impact on an entire family and their circle of support.
This unique initiative will help children and young people who have experienced traumatic events to heal, recover and build healthy strategies for processing their experiences.’
Paul Sweeney, Northern Ireland Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund who funded the project, said,
‘Thanks to money raised by people who play The National Lottery, we are delighted to fund this life changing project, that will give young people a better future. I would like to pay tribute to the hard work, commitment and determination of all those involved in making Camp Hope a reality.
As an environmental funder, I also commend Foyle Women’s Aid for considering their carbon footprint and factoring renewable energy into the design and operation of their project.
We look forward to seeing the long-term impact of Camp Hope over the coming years’.
Congratulations again to all the team, and to the victim-survivors and their families who spoke openly on the day.
