Summary Box
This blog highlights how mentorship is the foundation of Aaron’s Place: Camp Mariposa, a program supporting youth impacted by a parent or caregiver’s substance use disorder. While camp offers fun traditions and a sense of belonging, its true impact comes from trained mentors who provide consistent, compassionate guidance throughout therapeutic activities and everyday moments. Through group mentoring and trusted relationships, Camp Mariposa helps youth build resilience, community, and a safe place to grow.
Every child deserves a safe place to land. They deserve a place filled with joy, connection, and adults who show up for them with consistency and compassion. At Aaron’s Place: Camp Mariposa, that place looks like campfires, silly songs, late‑night giggles, and plenty of s’mores. But beneath the fun and the magic lies something even more powerful – mentorship that changes lives.
Our Mentors Make This More Than Just a Camp
While Camp Mariposa evokes images of overnight adventures and classic camp traditions, the heart of the program lies in something deeper. Our mentors do far more than volunteer their time. They invest their energy, their curiosity, and their whole hearts into empowering campers.
Each year, mentors complete extensive training to prepare for the unique needs of youth impacted by substance use disorder (SUD). They show up ready to build trust, navigate tough conversations, teach essential life skills, and support campers through moments of joy and moments of challenge. They give up weekends with their own families to be a consistent, safe presence for kids who have experienced instability, trauma, or loss.
Their commitment is active, intentional, and deeply compassionate.
As a mentor and OT student, Amelia Wiser shared:
“Being a mentor at Camp Mariposa has been the most meaningful thing I have done in my life. Seeing our beautiful camp community all work together to grow in empathy and understanding of SUD made me want to do the same. It has given me a passion for advocacy… and provided me with an avenue to truly impact others in a positive way and give back to my community.”
Why Mentorship Matters for Youth Impacted by SUD
Research shows that mentorship is a critical protective factor for young people. Many adults can look back and identify the mentors who shaped their lives, but many children can also recall a time when they needed a mentor and didn’t have one. For youth affected by a parent or caregiver’s substance use disorder, that gap can be even wider.
Children impacted by SUD often face feelings of guilt or responsibility, believing they caused or could have prevented their loved one’s substance use. They often have relationship trauma, despite still having loving adults in their lives. Lastly, they often also experience inconsistent support systems. This is especially prevalent in those who have moved frequently or have experienced instability in the home.
Camp Mariposa helps rewrite that narrative. Through our group mentoring model, youth connect with multiple safe adults, building a community of trust rather than relying on a single relationship. For many campers, camp becomes the one place that feels steady.
Each year, campers receive up to 130 hours of active mentorship, far exceeding what most traditional one‑to‑one programs can offer. And because our youth mentorship program is woven into every part of camp, those hours are meaningful, relational, and transformative.
How Mentorship Shows Up at Camp
Mentorship at Camp Mariposa isn’t limited to structured activities — it’s embedded into every moment.
Therapeutic Learning
Every Saturday during camp weekends, mentors help facilitate therapeutic activities designed by our clinical team. These sessions explore understanding addiction as a disease, how substance use affects the brain, social-emotional learning, and healthy coping skills.
Mentors guide discussions, support emotional processing, and help youth build resilience.
Everyday Moments That Matter
Some of the most impactful mentorship happens outside formal programming. Mentors help with navigating peer conflicts, managing campers’ emotions and feelings, celebrating small wins, or encouraging curiosity and confidence.
Mentors stay present, patient, and curious. This provides the kind of steady support many campers have long needed.
What Makes a Great Mentor
Our strongest mentors share a few key traits. For starters, they are present and fully engaged in each moment with campers, and can quickly adapt to the needs of the group. They are also curious and seek to understand rather than assume. They strive to form authentic relationships and have patience for meeting campers where they are. These qualities help create the trusting relationships that make healing possible.
Honoring Our Mentors During National Mentoring Month
Transformational work happens when trust is built, and trust is built through consistent, caring investment. Our mentors embody that investment every single camp weekend.
During National Mentoring Month, we want to honor the individuals who make Aaron’s Place programming possible. Their dedication ensures that every camper feels seen, supported, and valued.
How You Can Support Camp Mariposa
There are multiple meaningful ways to support our mission and help youth affected by SUD. You can help spread the word about Camp Mariposa to families who may benefit. You can also donate to help us recruit, train, and retain outstanding mentors.
If someone feels called to volunteer, they’ll find their way to us. Today, we simply want to keep Aaron’s Place mentorship top of mind and celebrate the people who make it extraordinary.
