Laughing and sliding down a hill on a piece of cardboard at Santa Barbara Zoo, these children appear to not have a care in the world - and that’s just what they hope for at Project Camp. This is a pop-up day camp for kids, set up for families who are displaced by the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles.
"We offer pop up, free, trauma-informed day camps, when schools are closed, normal child care services are disrupted, to support kids being able to move through a difficult time and to support their parents doing what they need to do to move on as well," explains Mikey Latner, the founder and executive director of Project Camp. It’s not his first rodeo, the organization has been on the ground at major disasters before, and knows the importance of providing a safe and fun place for kids to go at a time of crisis like this.
"We're providing time for these kids to be able to return to a sense of safety and normalcy, to use play to allow them to do that. It's giving the time for parents to navigate insurance and emergency services during this time and to process this event themselves," said Latner.
For moms like Kate Soto – who is staying with a family member in Santa Barbara after being evacuated from the path of the Eaton Fire – it’s an opportunity to keep things positive for her son, and to have the space to figure out navigate the complexities and stresses of the situation and what’s next.
"We are from Altadena. And our house was a block from the fire perimeter. So we still have a house, but we can't be there right now," says Soto.
"It means a lot just to have something to do for the kids to be with other kids, some sense of normalcy. You know, we've realized when we've gotten to connect with people face to face, that has been so important," said Soto.
She’s not alone, explains Suzanne Grimmercy, from the Department of Behavioral Wellness at Santa Barbara County.
"We have, in Santa Barbara area and the Montecito area, quite a high number of evacuees from the Los Angeles area that have either lost their homes or don't know if they've lost their homes from the fires. And we're very blessed as a community that we can come together, as we always do, to support them," said Grimmercy.
She says it's "critical" for families in this situation to have routine and normalcy and be able to play and learn the same.
"It's critical for children and for adults. It's not an event itself that causes the long term negative, traumatic impact. It's our experience with that event," said Grimmercy.
"So for these kids having their experience of evacuation, being paired with camp and fun and play in the zoo, that will be shaped into their experience. And the same as for parents whose children know what's going on. For many, they know that they no longer have a home to go back to," she said.
"To see them sitting on a piece of cardboard sliding down a hill at the zoo, giggling, smiling, if only for part of their day. It's extraordinary," she said.
Life won’t ever be the same for these families, so this is one step in figuring out what the new normal looks like.
