Diabetes Canada closing some summer camps in New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Ottawa

FREDERICTON — Diabetes Canada is closing its summer camps for children with Type 1 diabetes in New Brunswick and P.E.I. and moving them to Nova Scotia.

“This is probably the most difficult and challenging thing I’ve ever had to do,” Andrew Young, vice president of programs and services, said in an interview from his office in Toronto.

He said fundraising has not kept up with increased costs.

“What we saw was an opportunity to continue to offer service in a more centralized and consolidated way. It will save money for us in the long-run,” he said.

Camp Red Fox in Canoe Cove, P.E.I., and Camp Dia-Best at Green Hill Lake, N.B., would each host about 50 children each summer.

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Young said instead, they’ll add a number of weeks to the schedule at Camp Lion Maxwell in Lunenburg County, N.S., to accommodate kids from elsewhere in the Maritimes, and free transportation will be offered if required.

The Nova Scotia camp has traditionally had between 80 and 100 campers each summer.

The decision was made in November to close another summer camp in the Ottawa area, but Young said there are no plans to close any more camps across the country.

Diabetes Canada has been running camps since 1953.

Parents in the Maritimes pay $375 per child for a five-day camp, but Young said the actual cost is between $1,100 and $1,300.

He said the camps are just like any other summer camp with activities like swimming, crafts and drama, but also include counselling and time to address diabetes management.

“It’s really one of the only places where kids with Type 1 diabetes can come together and be with other kids who are in a similar situation to themselves,” Young said.  

Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin.

He said the camp schedule includes time for checking blood sugar, counting carbs and getting advice on diet.

Young said he knows the importance of children with diabetes getting the right advice and spending time with others who have diabetes, and he worries the added travel time and distance to Nova Scotia may keep some kids from attending camp.

“We’re not trying to serve less kids. We’re trying to serve them in a more efficient way,” he said.

Young said they may have to eventually raise the cost for parents, but believe that doing so now would result in fewer kids being able to go to camp.

Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press