LGBTQ+ Inclusion at Summer Camp
Picture this: the sun-soaked days, the crackling campfires, the promise of adventures in the great outdoors. For LGBTQ+ folks, though, heading off to a summer camp in the USA isn’t just about camp fires, and s'mores. It can be about finding a place in a world that sometimes feels a bit uncertain.
AmeriCamp work with a wide range of fantastic camps that pride themselves on being inclusive, and supportive of everybody. Summer camp should be your home away from home, where everybody feels safe & accepted.
Here’s a testimony from one of our past AmeriCamp applicants:
“Going to a YMCA Camp meant I was in an incredibly liberal and accepting environment. From my very first day at Camp, before I was even out to myself or others, I felt really safe - there was a big sign in one of the units that said “Welcome All Sizes, Colors, Ages, Cultures, Beliefs, Identities, All People are Safe Here” that I walked past everyday, and it was an attitude that was carried through everything we did at Camp.
Last year, as part of our Staff Orientation, we had a 3 hour seminar on LGBTQ+ inclusion - we wanted all the staff from across the world, coming to Camp with different backgrounds and from different cultures, to understand how we approach equality and inclusion at Camp.
One of the key points included in this training was being respectful of everyone’s pronouns, including staff and campers. For Campers especially, they may live in a household where their pronouns are not known or accepted, so we always check in with our kids about this at the very start of Camp to make sure they are being referred to how they should be while in our care. For many of them it is their only safe space where they can be true to themselves and we never want to take that away from them.
In line with the YMCA’s core values we have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination and always try to harness an environment where everyone's identity is respected. We take acts of prejudice very seriously, especially as a large proportion of our staff every year are in the LGBTQ+ community and should always feel safe and loved where they work.
For me personally, Camp helped me to accept my own identity as I was surrounded by an accepting environment where you are loved for what makes you different not in spite of it. I always felt empowered to support campers and my peers tackle difficult conversations about identity.
In the future of Camp, our goal as a community, current staff and alumni included, has been to find ways to help non-binary staff and campers feel more comfortable at Camp. By nature, Camp is a very traditional setting where everything is divided into girls and boys. To improve the Camp experience for people who do not fall into these binary categories we have slowly been introducing gender neutral spaces and cabins and hope to make this permanent in the near future”
Inclusion isn't just a policy at AmeriCamp—it's a fundamental part of who we are. By continuing to promote understanding, acceptance, and equality, together we can create a brighter, more inclusive future for all!
