People are trying to find places for their kids to learn and play after natural disasters

BREVARD, N.C. — The Weissmans still have a lot of work to do to recover from Hurricane Helene, which flooded their home last month.

They must track private insurance claims and file applications for the Small Business Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Because the storm knocked out power in western North Carolina, they are concerned about mold.

The storm also destroyed Max Weissman’s office, leaving the 45-year-old therapist nowhere to meet with patients. And the building that housed the tea company where Aviva Weissman worked was razed to the ground.

But the Weissmans haven’t had time to deal with that yet, because the Weissmans’ top priority, like all parents, is their children. Schools have been closed since the storm and their son Avi, 11, helped Max bleach the basement last week. Aviva briefly took their 7-year-old daughter Reyna to visit family in South Carolina before returning home.

Like all children, they both need routine and play now.

On Monday morning, Weissman took Avi and Reyna to a free pop-up day camp where dozens of kids made bracelets, drew and played big games of Jenga and Connect Four in a large playroom. Outside, girls bounced around a hopscotch court as a fierce basketball game raged behind them.

The camp is organized by the LA-based nonprofit Project:Camp. As storms become more frequent and intense, the organization increasingly travels to disaster-affected communities to set up spaces where children can cope with the disruption and devastation of disaster while their parents begin the long process of recovery.

“I feel pretty guilty telling them all the time, ‘I’ve never had to deal with this,’” Weissman said. “This is the first time we are dealing with a pandemic. This is the first time we have had to deal with a flood.’ And I feel like it just keeps going.”

He lingered outside the playroom, peering anxiously through the window to watch the children as he responded to messages from his patients.

The Brevard camp opened Monday and runs through Friday. Schools here are expected to open next week. Project:Camp talks to nearby communities about the next location. Schools cannot reopen until water is restored, and for some provinces it is still unclear when that will happen.

With Hurricane Milton approaching Florida, Project:Camp also prepared for the possibility that it might be needed there as well.

“There has always been a lack of this,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, founding director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and adjunct professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “As soon as possible, we must start restoring some level of post-disaster normality for children… The need for play cannot be underestimated,” he said.

Project: Camp volunteers are trained in trauma recovery. Children participate in gratitude circles, refocusing on positive thoughts and doing mental and emotional checks, or “me” checks, where they assess how they are feeling and learn to assess their own well-being.

They’re also just having fun.

“Camp is an inherently therapeutic space for children,” said Henry Meier, director of external affairs for the organization and leader of the Brevard pop-up. “They process through play, they process with their peers. So just having a space that they recognize, that they feel safe and comfortable in, is the best environment for them right now.”

The Weissmans returned to Project:Camp on Tuesday morning. Max looked more relaxed. He had done a number of things and the power would return that day.

When he picked up the kids the night before, Reyna told him this was the “best camp ever.” Avi said it was okay, but that was enough for Max.

“In the language of eleven-year-olds,” he said. “That means it was fantastic.”

———

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits is supported by the AP’s partnership with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropic coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.