A world away from cleaning houses
Elizabeth Gonzalez isn’t always able to spend much time with her four children -- most days, she’s busy cleaning houses in an effort to make enough money to support them.
So when she first found out about the Rowdy Ridge Gang Camp, a summer program for families affected by drug addiction or spousal abuse, Gonzalez jumped at the opportunity to take her children and escape the fast pace of their daily life.
“It was good reflection time for us to relax and have fun all together,” Gonzalez said of the family’s first summer at camp, where they have traveled together every year since 1999. “We don’t have the money to go out and do those kinds of things normally.”
“Every time we go there, we don’t want to leave because it’s peaceful and you’re with nature, without the problems of home and school,” added Wesley, Gonzalez’s 16-year-old daughter.
Rowdy Ridge welcomes mothers ages 18 to 40 and their children ages 2 to 17 to its grounds in the San Gabriel Mountains community of Wrightwood.
Gonzalez said her father and brother have struggled with alcohol abuse and have been members of Alcoholics Anonymous for a number of years.
“My kids see those things, and so it’s good for them to have positive reinforcement not to get into drugs,” she said of the messages her children receive at Rowdy Ridge.
“Camp doesn’t look at all like psychotherapy, and so families drop their defensiveness,” said Ruben Barajas, executive director for the Scott Newman Center, which operates the camp. “The only requirement at camp is [that] all the campers participate fully. They don’t have to divulge any secrets.”
But it’s not all serious business at camp -- both moms and kids spend time canoeing, tie-dying T-shirts and performing skits during the weeklong sessions, which typically are made up of about 80 individuals.
“The mothers really get into making jewelry,” Barajas said with a chuckle. “It’s something they can immediately wear rather than just keep in a folder or a box. We have adults running around excited about the lanyards on their key chains.”
Being in the outdoors can be a novel experience, he added, noting that many campers come from “pretty crummy areas,” often without front or back yards.
“Kids may not be able to articulate feeling a sense of connection to nature or a higher power,” Barajas said, “but they’ll say things like, ‘It’s so clean here. It doesn’t smell here.’ Or, ‘It smells, but it smells green, like dirt in a good way.’ ”
The Scott Newman Center is one of 60 organizations receiving financial support this year through the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign. More than 8,000 underprivileged children will go to camp this summer, thanks to $1.5 million raised last year. The annual fundraising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1.1 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.
Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771.
To make donations by credit card, go to latimes.com/summercamp. To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash. Unless requested otherwise, gifts of $50 or more will be acknowledged in The Times.
