Meet Kloie

Kloie describes her friends at Camp Mariposa like this: “We only have a few things in common, but they’re big things.”

Kloie, 16, is a sophomore and a regular at the Camp Mariposa teen camp in South Bend, operated by Oaklawn. The camp is for youth ages 13-17 who have been impacted by the substance use disorder of a loved one – most often their parents.

For Kloie, it was her biological mom. She struggled with substance use and Kloie was placed in foster care at the age of 7. Over the next five years, she was in four different foster homes – until she found her forever family and was adopted in 2022.

It was through her adopted mom, Melissa, who works at the National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP), that she learned about Camp Mariposa. The camp, which is always free to families, offers a combination of fun traditional camp activities with therapeutic and educational components. Campers learn about the disease of addiction, as well as their own risk. They learn and practice healthy coping skills. And they learn the 7 C’s: “I didn’t cause it. I can’t control it. I can’t cure it. But I can take care of myself by communicating my feelings, making good choices and celebrating myself.”

For Kloie, horseback riding, rock climbing and canoeing have been some of her favorite activities, but she’s also learned ways to deal with depression and anxiety that she uses at home and school. Building relationships at camp has helped, too, both with peers and the camp’s trained mentors, who she finds easier to talk to than many of the friends and adults she sees every day.

“Camp has taught me a lot,” she said. “Sometimes it doesn’t work at home, and sometimes it’s hard to remember, but there’s a lot we do at camp that helps.”