Now that the school year is over, kids are looking forward to enjoying the outdoor activities that Central Oregon offers — without those pesky reminders of school on Monday. The region’s homeless children, however, may not be able to afford summer camps or the equipment used in many outdoor activities.

The number of unaccompanied minors and families with children who are living homeless and unsheltered has risen in Central Oregon, according to a 2022 data report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. During the 2021-2022 school year, Bend-La Pine Schools had approximately 600 homeless students, according to Oregon Department of Education data.

The Bend Park & Recreation District regularly works with Bend-La Pine Schools and the Family Access Network, whose advocates help provide basic needs for kids and families, to find the right programs for homeless kids and make sure they apply for the scholarships offered.

“We try our hardest to break down barriers to provide a safe, enriching, positive situation for kids, whether it’s an after-school program, a summer camp, or learn to swim, or play soccer,” said Sue Boettner, recreation services manager at the park district. “Whatever it is, we work really closely to find out what the kids like and what their interests are.”

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Scholarship funding usually comes from federal funds from the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, intended for the benefit of homeless children. The park district’s scholarship funding provides 75% of funding for youth programs for families with high needs and 50% for those with moderate needs, said Boettner.

The park district’s foundation has also supported the purchase of equipment such as towels, water shoes and goggles for kids who need them.

The park district has several types of summer camps for different ages. Some are all-day camps, while others are more specific camps dedicated to arts, sports or nature, and don’t run all day.

“There’s probably a dozen kids doing summer programs (through McKinney-Vento),” said Boettner. “Some are doing soccer or football, but a lot of them are doing all-day summer camps.”

This year, the park district is piloting a six-week van service for 10 underserved kids who need transportation to different summer camps, said Boettner. Lunch will also be provided.

“We are seeing such a really big growth in our homeless population here, and I’m so glad we have the opportunity to do outreach and to reduce those barriers for these kids and get them into something positive that may help break their cycle,” said Boettner, who also serves as the steering committee chair for the Family Access Network. “You show them that they can do it….They can go every day and see healthy role modeling.”

Field trips, games, arts and crafts, outside play, outdoor activities and journaling make up some of the activities for the park district’s camps this year.

“It’s kind of what fills my cup. I’ve been here 22 years and I managed all the recreation programs and my favorite part of it is the outreach efforts that we do,” said Boettner. “If you can be that one person in a kid’s life that they can carry and remember that they’re worth it. … I work really hard at trying to navigate that for kids so they have a little bit of normalcy where they can just be a kid.”

Several Family Access Network advocates will be available over the summer on select days of the week should families need assistance with basic needs. Advocates will be able to help families in Bend, Redmond, Warm Springs, Crook County, Madras, La Pine and Sisters, said Julie Lyche, the program’s executive director.

Camp Fire Central Oregon, a youth development program, holds programs throughout the year, and has several camps throughout the summer. The program works with community partners such as Family Access Network and Shepherd’s House when registering families in need.

Kecia Kubota, executive director of Camp Fire Central Oregon, learned Wednesday that an additional $75,000 had just been approved for youth scholarships. The funding pays for full or partial camp fees. If a family found Camp Fire through a community partner, the scholarship pays for all camp fees. Camp Fire also helps with transportation if necessary.

“We have now a bigger bucket of funds to help distribute to any families that financially would not otherwise be able to afford to come to camp,” Kubota said.

Camp Fire runs a nine-week day camp at Bear Creek Elementary School for kindergartners through sixth graders that focuses on being outdoors and being creative. Older kids — those entering seventh grade and up — can join a program that focuses on leadership. Teenagers have the additional option to go into the community and help at a nonprofit while gaining leadership skills. Tumalo State Park is also host to an outdoor day camp that is mostly led by volunteers.

This summer, organizers are launching ExplORegon, a summer camp in Madras that will run in July. Kubota encouraged families to call to register, since there are still spaces available for rising first through sixth graders, and fees are minimal.

The organization also runs tech camps that don’t run all day. Kubota described an experience a few years ago with a girl who was homeless, and was introduced to Camp Fire through her Family Access Network advocate.

“They were living in a motel at the time, kinda jumping from motel to motel. I had a great opportunity to get to know her better, because she needed transportation,” said Kubota. “She just got that spark about robotics and started coming specifically to our tech camps, because that was more of interest to her.”

“A lot of times, it feels like people think of and perceive ‘summer camp’ as fluff, think of it as frivolous, like an unnecessary expense,” said Kubota. “I think the understanding has shifted. We consider it very essential: Just being engaged, being in community, staying active, is so much healthier for the kids physically, mentally and emotionally.”

She said that school can be a consistent place, and in the summer, for homeless kids, that consistency is gone.

“There can be a lot of anxiousness around not having a consistent schedule,” she said. “Of course, for many houseless families, parents do have jobs, and they’re trying to work, and they need child care for their kiddos to be able to do that, and we’re a way to support being able to maintain employment if you’ve got a safe place for your kids to be.”

Summer Family Access Network advocates can be contacted through the summer advocate contact list at familyaccessnetwork.org. Advocates are available in Bend Monday through Friday, in Redmond and La Pine Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, in Sisters on Wednesday, in Crook County on Tuesday and Thursday, and in Madras and Warm Springs on Tuesday and Thursday.

Camp Fire Central Oregon runs a long list of summer programs, and their phone number is 541-382-4682. Registration can be done over the phone, or through the website or a community partner such as the Family Access Network.