Summer camps for trans kids in the New England area?

March 30, 2023 7:53 AM

"Auntie" here, asking on behalf of extended family in the NE area with a 13-year-old trans child - I will be sharing this thread with the parents so they can track the responses. The child has been subjected to derogatory and bullying behavior at their school (which is being addressed with the school administration by the parents). The parents would love to have their child participate in a safe and nurturing environment this summer. Trans-specific would be great, or even anything rigorously safe, supportive, and trans-inclusive. The child has multiple interests, so all options are welcomed. New England area is fine, although Rhode Island, Massachusetts and up-state New York would be easiest for them to coordinate. Warmest thanks in advance.
posted by Silvery Fish to Human Relations (15 answers total)

Best answer: Harbor Camps appears to be the successor to Camp Aranu'tiq, which was the answer than came immediately to mind.
posted by hoyland at 8:35 AM on March 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I can't offer any personal recs, but PFLAG has a directory here: https://pflag.org/resource/camps-for-youth/

Hope your friends' child has a safe and wonderful summer!
posted by prewar lemonade at 8:41 AM on March 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I wonder if Unitarian Universalist camps might be a good fit? A good friend of mine who is nonbinary was a counselor for years at Rowe in the Berkshires and it sounded like a very warm, nurturing environment for people of all identities.
posted by rabbitbookworm at 8:43 AM on March 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Came here to suggest something similar to rabbitbookworm, another UU camp, UnirondackI was involved in the camp in the late 80s/early 90s, I'm not familiar with their current culture but their website puts inclusivity at the forefront, and outside of summer camp also offer a Youth Queer Advocacy' retreat - "to bring together young Queer and Trans leaders, advocates, activists, organizers, school club members, and aspiring allies. "
posted by snowymorninblues at 8:50 AM on March 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: +1 Unitarians
Unirondack could be a great fit. There are trans people on staff and everybody is made to feel welcome.
It is also a great camping experience. Both of my children went and it was a high point of the year.
posted by Glomar response at 8:52 AM on March 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: (I would also add that many LGBTQ+ centers run their own daily programming in the summer both as a summer camp and more general space if a sleep away camp isn’t an option).
posted by raccoon409 at 9:04 AM on March 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Spouse, kid, and I had a good experience at the end of summer family weekend at Camp Aranu'tiq in NH. (Linked above as Harbor Camps). It's a good way to let your kid check out the vibe and see if they want to commit to a full session of sleepaway camp come next summer. My kid did not, but it was not about the activities or the people or anything--these were all really great. The dealbreaker was the relentless intrusion of nature, in the form of spiders, mosquitos, and middle-of-night rustling sounds.
posted by Morpeth at 9:32 AM on March 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: My daughter went to Buck's Rock in Connecticut for a few years. Very arts-oriented, but also lots of crafts and hands-on stuff. She bunked with a trans friend one of the summers, and the whole place is very LGBTQ+-positive.
posted by AJaffe at 10:50 AM on March 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: If they’re interested in theater, Ghostlight Theater Camp offers a warm, supportive environment that welcomes everyone and is very transgender aware. The camp is really about building self confidence and community with the students under the guise of theater. The owners are absolutely lovely and have a lot of experience with transgender teens and adults.
posted by defreckled at 11:02 AM on March 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Not in New England, though many families fly for a week's vacation: Camp Indigo
posted by lab.beetle at 11:40 AM on March 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

The Lutheran (ELCA) camp for New England has been doing a lot of work to make the summer resident camp inclusive, and I've seen at least one testimonial from a trans kid who had an amazing time. (Might have been on the camp Facebook page?) It's Camp Calumet on Ossipee Lake in NH.
posted by orange (sherbet) rabbit at 1:55 PM on March 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Harbor Camps is the new name of Camp Aranu'tiq - it's otherwise the same staff, campers and facilities as it's been. I have a long history with them and it's hard to express how fabulous they are here, but they are tremendously caring and thoughtful. They are keenly aware that, for a lot of their campers, camp is the one place they can safely be themselves, and they take that responsibility very seriously. I've MeMailed you in case you want to talk more.
posted by range at 2:30 PM on March 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

I’m sending my trans kid to Friends Camp in Maine this summer. They are probably full for this year but keep them in mind for next year.
posted by fancyoats at 5:18 PM on March 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

The Putney School in Putney, VT has summer arts camps and is a very progressive organization. I would expect the teachers and administrators to be very sensitive to a trans kids needs, and I expect that they would be happy to discuss specific concerns as well.

Con: If the kid isn't into art, this probably wouldn't be a fit.
posted by that's candlepin at 7:15 AM on March 31, 2023

The Lutheran (ELCA) camp for New England has been doing a lot of work to make the summer resident camp inclusive

Yay ELCA! FWIW the ELCA camp in NJ is also inclusive - Camp Crossroads
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:15 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]