By: Lauren Francis
What Chameleon's Journey Means to Me
I started at Chameleon's Journey as a camper in 2007. When I was asked to share about my experience, I felt a rush of nerves and excitement on top of the huge sense of gratitude for this camp and all of the people who have had such an impact on my life. I figured it would be easy to write about something I so wholeheartedly believe in and that has been one of the most influential pieces in making me the person I am today. However, as I started thinking about what I wanted to say I realized that it is difficult to truly justify the magic that is Chameleon's Journey in words. Today I am going to attempt to show you this magic through telling you my story and the role Chameleon's Journey has played.
I lost my dad when I was 11 years old to a years long battle with cancer. For pretty much my entire life, I felt different from other kids my age. While my classmates were concerned with whether they liked their teachers or who they would be sitting next to at lunch, I was spending my weekends in the hospital, wondering when the day would come that I would have to say goodbye to one of the most important people in my life. I had a very hard time understanding why I, out of every person I had ever known, was the one going through this terrible experience. I felt sad and afraid and confused most of the time and those feelings, along with many others, only got deeper when my dad actually passed. While I had a wonderful support system and an even more incredible mom, who did an amazing job supporting me through this tragedy, I had never felt more alone. It is not typical to lose someone so close to you at such a young age and I was painfully aware of that fact in every aspect of my life. I longed for someone, even just one person who could understand what I was experiencing. I needed to know that I could get through this, that it was possible to figure out a way to live the rest of my life without my dad by my side.
Finding Chameleon's Journey was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was nervous and a bit skeptical my first year at camp but I quickly realized it was exactly what I had been wishing for. Being around other children who had also lost loved ones was like a whole new world. For the first time in my life I didn’t have to hide. I didn’t have to worry about making other people uncomfortable when I talked about my loss, I didn’t have to hold back tears when the waves of grief came, I didn’t have to pretend that I was like everyone else. Because here, I was like everyone else. My fellow campers saw my grief and they understood it - and that was special. Chameleon's Journey gave me a space where I could be myself without hesitation. It was an outlet for every emotion I had ever felt in response to my grief. It gave me lifelong friends, who despite only seeing, and in some cases even speaking to one time per year, know parts of me better than those who I interact with on a daily basis. At Chameleon's Journey I could cry and laugh and grieve and play and I never felt judged or misunderstood. Chameleon's Journey was and still is one of the places I feel the safest in my life.
Following my time as a camper, there was no question in my mind that I would be returning as a counselor. I was excited to share my experience and provide the support I had received to the children who would attend camp after me. I can genuinely say that my time at a Chameleon's Journey has helped me grow as a person as well as in my work as a mental health therapist. Watching the kids grow and learn and support one another over the years has been an incredibly fulfilling experience that I would not give up for anything.
Upcoming Events for 2025:
To learn more about Chameleon’s Journey Camp or VIA Health Partners, visit www.chameleonsjourney.org or www.viahp.org.
To learn more about Volunteering with VIA Health Partners, visit us at:
About VIA Health Partners
VIA Health Partners began as Hospice at Charlotte, the state’s first hospice, in 1978 and then operated under the name Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region (HPCCR) for decades before its name change to VIA Health Partners in 2023. Today VIA Health Partners serves 3,500 patients each day for hospice and palliative care services. Our service area encompasses 14 counties in North Carolina--Burke, Catawba, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Polk, Rutherford, Stanly, and Union. Its service area in South Carolina includes Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union, and York counties.