Helped, Heard or Hugged? New Study Shows Best Ways for Camps to Respond to Rising Youth Anxiety

Released ahead of World Mental Health Day, a new report from national youth development organization Camp Fire highlights how intentional support, staff well-being, and time outdoors can help young people thrive.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Growing up is hard, and more young people are arriving at camp carrying the weight of it. Ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10, Camp Fire, a leading national youth development organization, released a new study, Supporting Mental Health and Well-Being at Camp: Conversations with Camp Fire Staff and Youth.

Today's young people are growing up in the aftermath of a global pandemic, amid school violence, political division, ongoing wars, and rising anxiety among them has become a public health concern. This weight follows them to camp. Conducted in spring 2026 with research partner Informed Change, this new study is built on listening sessions with staff from four of Camp Fire's 39 affiliates (Camp Fire Alaska, Camp Fire Green Country in Oklahoma, and Camp Fire Central Puget Sound and Camp Fire Samish in Washington) and with campers and counselors-in-training at Camp Fire Samish. The affiliates were selected for above-average well-being scores on the Hello Insight Young Staff Survey and their intentional investment in mental health for campers and staff.

Staff described needs that have shifted in recent years. Many campers carry anxiety about the political climate, 2SLGBTQIA+ campers most of all. Older campers who spent their early childhoods at home during the pandemic have a harder time missing home and making friends. Some camps reported more campers experiencing suicidal ideation or turning to vaping to cope. Camps are also welcoming more neurodivergent young people: at Camp Fire Green Country, 82% of last year's campers self-disclosed as neurodivergent or on the autism spectrum.

The report identifies three core insights:

1. Intention matters more than formality. Camps support mental health along a continuum. At one end are formal programs like the Alliance for Camp Health's Mental Emotional Social Health or MESH(+) Seal and CampWell staff training, now used at nine Camp Fire camps. At the other are small, deliberate habits: a Calm Corner for campers who need a moment away from the crowd, a quiet table outside a loud dining hall, a secret handshake at every doorway. At Camp Fire Alaska, staff ask a struggling camper, "Would you rather be helped, heard or hugged?" Every practice on the continuum works when done with purpose, so any camp can begin, regardless of size or budget.
2. Caring for staff is caring for campers. Camps that invested in young staff through one-on-one check-ins, weekly feedback, staff accessibility plans and lower staff-to-camper ratios saw that care carry through to campers. Camp Fire Alaska and Camp Fire Green Country both reported a large increase in returning staff after adding mental health supports for young staff, a result that matters to every camp that struggles to hire. "I had no support at my last camp," one young staff member said. "Coming to a camp where the people here care about me as a person has been really huge and has really helped with anxiety."
3. Relationships and the outdoors make everything else work. Young people said what helped most was an adult who listened without rushing to fix things. Time outside gave them a break from screens and room to breathe. "It's really good to have someone listen, just unbiased, just listen to your problems and not try to find a solution," said a young person at Camp Fire Samish. For some campers, camp was the first time they had truly seen the stars. One told a counselor, "I didn't know the Earth looked like this."

"Camp directors across the country are seeing young people arrive under more emotional strain than they used to," said Shawna Rosenzweig, chief executive officer of Camp Fire. "We asked our affiliates what's working, the common thread was adults paying attention on purpose. Any camp, afterschool program, or classroom can start doing that now."

Camp Fire believes one of the best ways to honor young people is to share power with them, and the campers and counselors-in-training at Camp Fire Samish helped shape the study's recommendations. Affiliates asked Camp Fire National Headquarters for tools to build on what is working: pre-camp resources to help families prepare campers emotionally, national resources adapted for camp, regional convenings, and a podcast to help new staff get ready for summer. Staff also hope to expand quiet spaces, add support staff and increase access to professional mental health counselors. The work advances Flourish, Camp Fire's 2026–2030 strategic plan to reach 250,000 young people across all 50 states.

"The camps in this study worked this out on their own, but no camp should have to," said Rosenzweig. "Our job now is to get what they learned into the hands of anyone who spends a summer with young people."

The study was completed in partnership with Jenna Sethi and Clare Eisenberg of Informed Change, with generous support from AT&T, Lilly Endowment Inc. and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies for Camp Fire's mental health and well-being initiatives.

Read the full report here: https://campfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Supporting-Mental-Health-and-Well-Being-at-Camp-.pdf

ABOUT CAMP FIRE

Growing up is hard. That's why Camp Fire connects young people to the outdoors, to others and to themselves. Founded in 1910, Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multiracial organization for girls, but today is an inclusive national youth development nonprofit that serves all young people. By creating safe spaces where young people can have fun and be themselves, its 39 affiliates in 22 states and Washington, D.C., provide affirming, year-round, youth-driven experiences, including school-day programs, afterschool programs, leadership programs, camps and outdoor education that enable youth to develop essential skills that have long-term benefits and make a positive social impact on the world. Learn more at campfire.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Surabhi Virnave
[email protected]
(312) 626 0235

SOURCE Camp Fire