Highlands County parents sent their children to Good Shepherd Hospice’s Camp Brave Heart on April 5 for a weekend trip for bereaved children.
After all of their belongings were packed, the coach bus took off to the Circle F Dude Ranch Camp in Lake Wales at 3:45 p.m. as parents and workers waved farewell. This year marks the 20th annual send-off event, featuring family activities like snacks, games, arts and crafts, and interactions with team members and counselors. At the camp, children will be able to relate their experiences with others who are also healing from the loss of a loved one.
One of these local children is Christopher Petrucelli who was accompanied by his mother, Sara Petrucelli, at the send-off. He’s been going to therapy sessions at the Good Shepherd Hospice since January to help heal from the passing of his uncle, Neil Petrucelli.
Neil was Sara’s brother, who unexpectedly passed away in December 2023. He was a jokester, and that rubbed off on Christopher – he still reminisces of the many pranks they pulled on each other and April Fool’s Day was their bona fide Christmas Day.
“We wanna try to get over our loss a little bit, Good Shepherd Hospice has been wonderful working with myself and Chris through their arts and crafts,” Sara said. “They have little lessons, and they remind us not to give up on our faith.”
Neil moved down to Florida with his wife Wendy two years ago from Massachusetts and initially lived with Sara in Lake Wales. During that time, Chris became close with Neil, and they became inseparable.
Along with the rest of his group, the Broncos, Christopher returned from the camp on Sunday after what he described as a very valuable experience. When interviewed, he expressed focusing on the positive moments he experienced with Neil and the camp helped him with that.
Bereavement Specialist Suzy Soliday has worked at Camp Brave Heart for 20 years since the very beginning, watching some kids grow up to work on the campgrounds or at Good Shepherd Hospice. It comes back full circle enabling more to heal from a loss everyone experiences.
“Our bereavement specialists provide individual counselors for children as well as adults,” Soliday said. “Grief can affect children in many different ways. It can affect them physically as far as their energy level and motivation. They may have some physical manifestations of grief such as stomach aches or headaches.”
The camp had their group embark on a slew of activities around the campgrounds meant to be fun and exciting for all. Saturday night, Christopher mentioned that the group wrote notes for their loved ones, put them in an envelope and watched them burn as a symbolic gesture for letting go of their sadness.
“It was helping me remember him,” Christopher said. “There’s a campfire and we put the paper that we wrote down into the campfire, then it burns to get all the sad emotions out. I’m happy that I was with some of the people that experienced the same emotions as me.”
His favorite activity was horseback riding led by some of the wranglers on the campground as they filed in line along a trail. Other activities they did were swimming, arts and crafts and more interestingly the shadow box.
Christopher described the shadow box where the children had to create a scene that helped them remember their loved one. He colored it light green with a heart with a face, a bicycle and another heart with a number one.
“He does seem to feel a little lighter,” his mom said. “There are still some things I feel he may not be sharing, but that is normal and to be expected and it might take him a little bit to share the harder part of his feelings.”
For anyone who wishes to apply to the program, their bereavement center’s phone number is 863-968-1707. The program is free and handled by certified specialists who are able to provide adequate support in times of grief.
