Camps

About Kookaburra Kids Camps

Kookaburra Kids Camps are free, and provide young people living in families impacted by mental illness with:

• An opportunity for connection
• Chat Group to learn about mental illness and to share
• Participate in a range of fun activities such as canoeing, archery, giant swings, go-karts and much more!

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, our camps are temporarily on hold. All registered participants of the Kookaburra Kids program will receive an email notification when our camps resume. In lieu of camps, Kookaburra Kids will be launching FULL DAY ACTIVITIES from April 2021.

A central part of the Kookaburra Kids Camp is the Chat Group run each day by our team of experienced volunteer leaders. Chat Group makes Kookaburra Kids Camp unique to other children’s camps as it provides an opportunity to acknowledge the fact that all campers have a commonality – having a person in their family with mental illness. Chat Group provides an opportunity to learn about mental illness and how it affects families; share their experiences and to discover and improve their coping skills and resilience. This all takes place in a fun-filled, supportive and caring atmosphere, and is developed and overseen by people who are highly trained in this area.

To download an information flyer, please click here.

Chat Group is important for Kookaburra Kids because:

• Children cope better if they have age-appropriate information about their family member’s mental illness.
• Children often feel ‘different’ from their peers – Chat Group is a unique opportunity for children to realise they are not so ‘different’, and it can provide an important sense of belonging for children.
• Children need to know it is okay to talk to someone other than their family about their feelings and know they are not ‘betraying’ their family member by doing so. Children need people other than their parents, who support and care about them.
• To reassure children and dispel any myths they may believe
• To identify coping skills that can increase the child’s resilience. Resilient children can cope more effectively with challenges, and overcome adversity.

Overall, Kookaburra Camps are designed to achieve:

• Education about mental illness
• Increased ability to cope effectively
• Increased resiliency
• Increased self-expression and communication
• Development of creativity
• Reduction in feelings of isolation
• Increase in self-esteem
• Increased support network
• Having lots of fun!