Staten Island Kids Welcome For Next Year: Grieving NYC Children Find Healing Through Puppets at Calvary’s CampCompass®

Grieving NYC Children Find Healing Through Puppets at Calvary’s CampCompass®

Editor’s note: Residents of New York City grieved the loss of a police officer shot while off-duty as a security officer at a building a few weeks ago. The movie Sketch, by Angel Studios, which is currently in theaters, explores themes of grief and loss through artistic expression, specifically drawing monsters as demonstrations of the feelings of grief and sadness she was coping with. See below the story for several photos of the camp’s participants this year. 

Last week, 50 children and teens from across New York City are gathering at Calvary Hospital’s CampCompass®—the only grief camp of its kind in New York—to process loss through storytelling, creativity, and puppet theater.

Now in its 28th year, CampCompass® provides a safe space for children who’ve lost loved ones to illness, violence, or accidents. This year’s focus on puppetry as a tool for emotional healing makes the story especially powerful and timely.

The following questions were provided to Calvary about the program and its availability for Staten Island children experiencing grief and loss.  Questions are in bold, answers in italics:

Was it open to all NYC residents who have experienced loss?

The program is/was open to all NYC children who have suffered the loss of a close loved and are referred to our Bereavement Department.

How would someone apply to attend next year’s camp (or others if they are throughout the year)?

People can review our services at www.calvaryhospital.org/bereavement.

We usually open applications for the August Camp early in the spring.

(There is only one camp each year, in August. Calvary does, however, offer year-round in-person Bereavement or Grief counselling for children. Virtual counselling may be offered on a limited basis.)

Are Staten Island residents eligible if they can travel to Queens?

SI children can attend the Camp (upon consultation with Calvary Bereavement and a completed application) but we don’t offer transport to/from SI. They’d have to get private transport to camp OR to either our Brooklyn or Bronx Hospital locations, where they could get on a “camp bus” to and from camp.

Are there similar programs planned with ArchCare in Staten Island?

To my knowledge, no, not at this time.

 

THE BRONX and BAYSIDE, AUGUST 11, 2025 – Hand puppets and storytelling, powerful tools in helping children cope with grief and loss, with take center stage Calvary Hospital’s CampCompass® from August 11^th to 15^th, the only camp of its kind in New York for children and teens who have experienced the death of significant others due to illness, accidents, and violence.

Established 28 years ago by Calvary, the leader in palliative and hospice care, CampCompass® welcomes children from throughout Greater New York aged 6 to 18 every summer to share their stories, explore grief, honor loss, and celebrate life. The camp is located at CUNY’s Queensborough Community College, in Bayside, Queens.

“Calvary’s Camp Compass® is a healing program that engages children, harnesses the power of creativity, and provides opportunities so they can bond and support each other,” said Edgardo Lugo, Director of Bereavement at Calvary.

“This week we’re featuring Puppet Theater and Puppet Workshops – experiences which are particularly good when words are difficult or insufficient to express how you feel,” said Lugo a registered Play Therapist Supervisor and Certified Group Psychotherapist.

Allowing children to project their thoughts and feelings onto the puppets and the narratives they create can reduce the pressure and fear of judgment that children might feel when expressing their grief, according to Behavioral Health Bereavement Counselor Joanne Castellanos.

“It’s playful. It’s meaningful for children of all ages because theatre gives them control over their environment and a different understanding of loss,” explained Castellanos.

“Grief is universal but experienced differently by everyone. CampCompass® honors both the child who is grieving and the person they’ve lost,” she said.

The five-day camp, which hosts 50 children from throughout the city, starts August 11^th.

Calvary Bereavement Service caters to children of all ages as well as adults who have experienced the death of a parent, partner, child, or sibling. Calvary also provides support to schools and organizations when there is a death in their community. In addition, Calvary delivers professional grief and bereavement training to nurses, social workers, and mental health counselors throughout the city through its acclaimed Annual Bereavement Course.

See more about puppets and healing, below.

Why and how puppets help children heal

Puppets, especially hand puppets, are powerful tools in helping children cope with grief and loss, providing a developmentally appropriate way for children of all ages to process difficult emotions and experiences.

Puppets can make children feel better because they provide:

• Emotional Distance and Safety: Children can project their feelings onto the puppet, creating a layer of emotional distance that makes it less intimidating to express sadness, anger, fear, or confusion related to the loss.
• Expression Without Pressure: Puppets provide a voice for children who may struggle to verbally articulate their grief directly to an adult. They can “say” things through the puppet that they are not yet ready to vocalize themselves.
• Storytelling and Processing: Children often use puppets to reenact real-life or imagined scenarios related to the loss, helping them process the event, explore different feelings, and navigate difficult memories or transitions. Therapists can also use puppets to model appropriate responses and guide the child through difficult situations.
• Practicing Social Skills: Role-playing with puppets allows children to practice communication skills, explore different perspectives, and develop empathy within a safe and non-threatening environment.
• Engagement and Regulation: Puppets are inherently playful and can help engage children, even those who may be withdrawn or resistant to traditional talk therapy. Their movement, voices, and character can captivate attention and help regulate emotions during counseling sessions.

What makes puppets entertaining and useful for bereavement

• Playful Engagement: Puppets are naturally appealing to children and can transform potentially overwhelming discussions into a more playful and engaging experience.
• Storytelling and Imagination: Puppets naturally lend themselves to storytelling and role-play, allowing children to be creative and explore different scenarios and problem-solving strategies through imaginative play.
• Non-threatening and Safe: The use of puppets creates a low-stakes environment, reducing the pressure on children to find the “right” words or directly confront their pain.
• Universal Language: Play is a child’s natural language, and puppets provide a way to communicate and understand their inner world, even when verbal language might be insufficient.
• Sensory and Multi-modal Engagement: Puppets with different textures, sounds, and visual characteristics can engage children through various senses, further enriching the therapeutic experience.

About Calvary

Calvary has provided exceptional palliative and hospice care throughout Greater New York for 125 years. Calvary Hospital and Calvary Hospice care for approximately 6,000 mostly terminally ill patients (and their families) annually through a wide range of medical interventions and support services. Founded by the visionary Women of Calvary, Calvary is committed to providing compassionate care to patients with complex, life-limiting illnesses and their families. Calvary’s mission is characterized by a holistic, patient-centered approach to care that supports everyone’s physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It is a member of ArchCare, the healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of New York.

Visit www.calvaryhospital.org to learn more.