Resource Community Series:
MESH Systems and Supports at Camp (200-Level)

Have you/your camp been setting up mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) supports for your staff and campers or are you ready to take the next steps to do so? This series of monthly facilitated discussions (October to May) is designed to give camp leaders with decision-making responsibilities the space and support to dive deep into examining what your camp is already doing, identifying gaps, and setting intentions for future actions. For example:

• Do you have staff dedicated to social/emotional support of campers/staff and if so, what is their role and how is it going? If not, what would it take to get you there?
• What resources are in place in case of a mental health emergency or a crisis requiring urgent emotional/mental health support for your staff/campers?
• What kind of MESH training does/should your leadership staff get each year? Counselors?
• Have your staff expressed the need for more breaks or time off? What actions can you take?
• How are your health forms/intake systems providing you with the information you need to best support campers and staff (or what needs to change)?
• What innovative things do you want to try and how can colleagues help you workshop ideas?

Nick Teich, PhD, LCSW, founder and former CEO of Harbor Camps and owner of Fairwinds Consulting, LLC, will moderate the group. His role will be to encourage participant-led discussions, provide resources, offer observations and insights, all while keeping the conversation and session flow going!

Resource community participants should be in a role where they are responsible for making decisions about MESH programming and policy at their camp or have direct influence/input into that process.

This series is not designed to be a how-to, but an interactive, live, discussion-based opportunity for participants to have meaningful conversations about the MESH systems and supports at their camp. Sessions will not be recorded. There will be two sessions in-person (one local to Lexington, MA and one at the New England Camp Conference in Manchester, NH), one hybrid opportunity, and five Zoom sessions. The schedule is as follows:

• October 19, 2023, 10 am – 1 pm, In-person, ACA, New England offices, 80 Westview Street, Lexington, MA
• November 16, 2023, Zoom, 10 am – 11:30 am
• December 14, 2023, 10 am – 11:30 am, Zoom
• January18, 2024, 10 am – 11:30 am, Zoom
• February 15, 2024, 10 am – 11:30 am, Zoom
• March 21/22/23, 2024, In-person at ACANE conference in Manchester, NH, 90 minutes (day/time TBD)
• April 18, 2024, 10 am – 1 pm, Hybrid (in-person attendance at ACA, New England, Lexington, MA highly recommended)
• May 9, 2024, 10 am – 11:30 am, Zoom

Trying to decide if this is a good fit for you? We’d say yes if 1) your job includes leadership responsibilities related to decision-making around mental, emotional, and social health supports to your camp community; 2) you have started this work or plan to take action by summer 2024; 3) you are excited to openly and honestly share your knowledge and perspectives with other camp in the resource community; 4) you can prioritize and commit to attending the full series of sessions.

As space is limited to around 20 participants to ensure meaningful interactions, we can accommodate one staff member per camp at this time. Participants will receive 14 Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for their full participation.

Cost:      $269/ACA members; $319/Non-members. (Registration is for the duration of the series – eight sessions in total.) 

REGISTER HERE!

 If you are looking for more skill-based sessions or other resource communities, please look at ACA, New England’s event calendar or reach out to ACA, New England for help identifying other opportunities to meet these needs.

About the Facilitator

Nick Teich, PhD, LCSW, runs Fairwinds Camp Consulting, where he trains and consults with camps on a myriad of issues. In 2009 Nick started Harbor Camps, and, over the next 13 years, oversaw the purchase and renovation of its own lakefront property and grew it to more than 800 campers each summer. Nick has a master’s degree in social work from Boston College and a doctorate in social policy from Brandeis University.

Nick began his overnight camping career in Maine at the age of 10, where he subsequently became a CIT, counselor, and a member of the camp leadership. Prior to overnight camp, he was a day camper in NY. Nick is a member of the ACA-New England Board of Directors and Maine Summer Camps.  He lives in the Boston area with his wife and two daughters.