SharonW1124
ezOP
Posts: 18
(10/16/02 3:44 am)
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chronically ill young adults program
Malisa posted this on the GI Young Adults list. I just wanted to pass it along....~sharon 
Hi there!
I wanted everyone to know that the program that Mallory and I were talking about called Next Step has a website. This is a program in Boston that is for young adults with chronic illness. I actually spoke with Billy, the director, today and they are moving forward with getting this program set up. Many of you may have heard of me speak of the Hole in the Wall gang camps, and the camp I attended in Upstate NY as a teenager. These camps are for kids with chronic illnesses. Camp was one of the best experiences I had b/c of my illness. Camp provided a positive atmosphere for me where I could discover my own strengths and be accepted unconditionally. I really think every kid should get an experience like this.
Anyway, now that you have all that info....Next Step was created by the asst. director of Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut specifically for young adults who have had a chronic illness since childhood or adolescence, basically before the age of 18 or 21. It is based on the same premise as camp, but is entirely for young adults. This is for everyone, not just kids who went to camp and are now young adults. Currently, there is no upper age limit as long as the illness started before adulthood, especially illnesses that are considered childhood illnesses. Right now, they don't have property set up, but they are going around to different hospitals providing workshops and retreats on how to cope with different issues surrounding transitioning into adulthood. They are looking at land now in Boston to develop a year round camp/retreat facility for young adults with chronic illnesses and are hoping to have this up and running as soon as they can (probably still a couple years or more from being done). They are also going to have a very extensive website for young adults to connect with eachother and be able to be connected with mentors who have been through similar things with success. Just talking to Billy, the director, today gave me alot of hope that they will have these supports for all of us. This is really exciting for me b/c I am sure all of you know what I am talking about when I say that it would have been wonderful to have some sort of support system like this set up going through the late teens/twenty-something years. I still feel like I need a program like this. Anyway, hopefully we will all be able to benefit from it in one way or another.
Check out the website:
www.nsweb.org/mission.html
(Billy cautioned me that the website is somewhat dated and some of the info is not entirely accurate. They have on there that the program is mostly for blood diseases, but have expanded their programs to include many more chronic diseases. For example, he even talked about having a weekend for people on pumps today, if there is a great enough need in the future! How cool is that!)
Malisa
PS-Also, the website of the camp I went to as a teen (for children 6-16 with chronic illness) is www.doublehranch.org
Edited by: SharonW1124 at: 10/16/02 3:44:56 am
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