A colorful display of arts and crafts at the Mountain Top Library in Tannersville drew an unusually enthusiastic response this summer, Library Director Jaki Elmo said.
“Between staff and people visiting, we’ve never had as much feedback,” she said. “Everything is bright and smiling at you.”
Paper-plate animals, flowers, plants, and abstract drawings filled a back wall. The collection came from Camp Loyaltown in Hunter, where activities counselor Sindike Reyes Perez gathered the work throughout the summer.
Located off Glen Avenue, the camp welcomes hundreds of adults and children with developmental disabilities each summer, most of them from Long Island. For campers, it offers swimming, art, outdoor activities, and friendships. For their families, it provides a break from caregiving.
“It’s really a respite program for the families, and it allows the people who come here to have that engagement, friendship, to talk with the staff,” said Savita Sharma, the camp director.
Most sessions last two weeks, though some campers attend several or stay for the whole summer. The children’s session lasts one week.
The camp’s programs are less structured than standard day habilitation programs, Sharma said, giving campers room to choose how they spend their time. Along with arts and crafts and an accessible swimming pool, the camp offers outdoor activities and animal therapy. Alpacas, rabbits, cows, sheep, and chickens live on the grounds.
“If they want to go to the pool, they choose to do that,” Sharma said. “When they get up it’s less of a structure and more of an enjoyment.”
On a Saturday in August, campers and their counselors spread out across the grounds. Some worked on drawings; others played sports.
Jennifer Clemente, 41, of Bohemia in Suffolk County, took a liking to hula hooping. Asked to name her favorite activity at camp, she couldn’t settle on just one.
“A lot,” she said.
At an outdoor craft table, Mitiadis Fokas, 20, of Plainview in Nassau County, carefully threaded beads onto colored yarn. White letter beads spelled out his name on the bracelet.
“I’m the star of the show,” he said.
Camp Loyaltown is part of Citizens Options Unlimited, a nonprofit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Its mission has changed since its dedication in 1948, when The New York Times described it as a “non-sectarian camp for underprivileged boys.” A partnership with AHRC Nassau in 1974 marked its transition to serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Today, about 100 campers are on-site at a time. The camp has more than 200 staff members representing 25 countries across six continents. Many arrive in the United States on J-1 cultural exchange visas.
Reyes Perez, 29, came from Oaxaca in southern Mexico and has worked as a counselor for three years. Like many of her fellow counselors, she arrived on a J-1 visa.
Most campers take their crafts home, but Reyes Perez kept two pieces from each camper for the library display.
“When I put all these together, I couldn’t imagine how many things we did,” Reyes Perez said.
The camp has also brought her friendships that stretch far beyond Hunter.
“I’ve met friends from everywhere in the world,” she said. “I have friends from France, Italy, England, Brazil.”
Another third-year counselor, Maria Santos De Sousa, now heads a unit at Camp Loyaltown. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, she learned about the camp through an Instagram post.
“I saw the announcement to go to a summer camp,” she said. “I just applied and I came.”
Counselors typically work six days a week. On their day off, they can explore Hunter or join camp-organized excursions to places such as Albany and Woodbury. In town, Santos De Sousa said, counselors often gather for coffee at Fellow Mountain Cafe or Chinese food at Peking Restaurant.
The job has given Santos De Sousa opportunities to improve her English and gain professional experience. She’s in the final semester of her bachelor’s degree in communications and plans to return for one more summer before pursuing a master’s degree in Spain.
“Now, I’m a leader,” she said. “It’s good, because to work with people, sometimes it’s hard.”
For some counselors, the camp becomes a career. Tevin Gilfillian, 31, started as a counselor eight years ago and is now assistant director. Originally from Jamaica, he lives in Ronkonkoma in Suffolk County.
“What made me return was the diversity, meeting people from different cultural aspects of the world,” he said. “But what made me return year-to-year is giving families the opportunity to get respite.”
The response from families has been especially meaningful, Gilfillian said.
“It’s hard being with a person that requires 24/7 care,” he said. “Seeing that reaction when we’re able to provide them respite is priceless.”
The relationships between counselors and campers also bring people back. Reyes Perez recalled a camper who asked for her before they were reunited this summer.
“I have a few male campers,” she said. “One of them was asking the main office, ‘is Sindi back this summer?’ When I saw him in the session two weeks ago, he made me a beautiful picture.”
His gift surprised her.
“I was so happy in that moment because I didn’t realize that he remembered me from last summer,” she said.
At the pool, Jullius Mceachin, 9, of Flushing, Queens, stayed close to his counselor.
Wearing a life jacket, Mceachin ran to the side of the pool and jumped in.
With each leap, he shouted:
“Cannonball!”
Connor Greco is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Windham, Hunter, and surrounding Greene County communities. Send correspondence to connor@theoverlooknews.com.
