When sisters Addison and Parker Halus, ages 10 and 8, headed off to HopeHealth’s Camp BraveHeart this summer, they were going to a place already stitched into their family’s story.
Their dad, Joe Halus, had been executive director of the North Attleboro Branch of the Hockomock Area YMCA, where Camp BraveHeart — a youth grief camp — is held each summer in Massachusetts. For years, he’d made sure the weekend ran smoothly for the kids who attended, plus HopeHealth’s dozens of grief experts and volunteers. It was one of his favorite parts of the job.
“Joe loved when the Y was full of life — kids at camp, programs happening, people everywhere. That’s when he thought the Y was at its best,” says his wife, Kristen Peterson Halus.
In May 2023, Joe died suddenly of a heart attack. In that unimaginable loss, Kristen knew her daughters needed support. Thanks to Joe’s ties to HopeHealth and the Y, she knew at least one place to start.
Just weeks after their dad’s funeral, Addi and Parker attended Camp BraveHeart for the first time.
> Are you coping with grief and loss? HopeHealth offers free, virtual grief support groups.
“It was nice to know everyone felt the same way”
At any age, one of the hardest parts of grief is feeling isolated from the people around you. That’s especially true for children and young adults — “Nobody really wants to be the kid that’s different,” says Kristen.
At Camp BraveHeart, that feeling lifts. Every child there knows what it means to lose someone special.
“Something I learned at camp is that there’s a whole bunch of people out there who have experienced the same things as me and my sister,” Addi says. During one group activity, her circle passed around a bag of Skittles, with each color prompting a different question: Who did you lose? What’s your favorite memory of them? What do you miss most?
“Questions like that… it was kind of nice just to know everyone felt the same way,” she says. “It makes it easier because you’re talking to people who get it.”
“If you ever need someone to talk to, Camp BraveHeart is the place to go,” Parker agrees.
> Read: At age 14, he lost his dad. Now, this teen is helping other kids heal at Camp BraveHeart
“I could express myself in my own ways”
Beyond that sense of community, campers also get the chance to just be kids.
“Just because a kid looks and acts normal doesn’t mean that they’re not grieving. Grieving kids are also allowed to have fun, be silly, and be themselves,” says Kristen. “That’s part of healing too.”
This summer, Addi loved splash wars in the pool with her new friends. Parker loved letting loose in her dance and movement workshop, and writing a song about grief that was both silly and sad. (Her chorus about beans and protein had everyone giggling.) She looked forward to the lunch bell, when her group would “stampede” to the dining hall.
“I got to be wild and free like my normal self, and I could express myself in my own ways,” Parker says.
Every year, campers create keepsakes to remember their loved one. During the sisters’ first time at camp, that included a special craft with hawk feathers — the staff’s tribute to their dad. Joe was always pointing out hawks in the sky, circling above the Y. Now, they’re a sign that he’s still with them, watching over.
> Read: Where to put your love when you’ve lost someone special
“It made me feel not so alone”
With Joe’s legacy at the Y, it’s no surprise his family has always valued the importance of community — especially the kind that forms at Camp BraveHeart.
“Our family has always been a camp family,” Kristen says. “We really believe in the power of camp and how it can leave a lasting impact.”
Now, after two summers at Camp BraveHeart, the girls want other grieving kids to know about the camp too.
“I feel like every kid or teenager who has experienced loss should go to Camp BraveHeart, because you make all these new friends with this one thing in common,” says Addi. “You spend two days together and by the end it’s like you’ve known them for years. You can talk about your feelings and about the person you lost.”
Parker remembers how different she felt after her first year.
“When my daddy first died, I didn’t feel like opening up or sharing. It would keep building up, and then I would explode,” she says. “But ever since I’ve been going to the camp, it’s been making me better at sharing my feelings and emotions. It made me feel not so alone.”
At home, Kristen often reminds the girls of that invisible bond. “When they feel like the only ones who’ve lost a parent because there’s no one else in their class or grade who gets it, we can reflect back on camp: Remember all your friends who are missing someone too? You’re not alone,” she says.
Their dad — who once worked so hard to support Camp BraveHeart — helped make that possible.
“Joe loved Camp BraveHeart,” Kristen says. “Now it’s giving Addi and Parker a place to heal.”