Hand puppets and storytelling, powerful tools in helping children cope with grief and loss, took center stage at Calvary Hospital’s CampCompass from August 11 to 15, the only camp of its kind in New York for children and teens who have experienced the death of significant others due to illness, accidents, and violence.

Established 28 years ago by Calvary, the leader in palliative and hospice care, CampCompass welcomed children from throughout Greater New York aged 6 to 18 this summer to share their stories, explore grief, honor loss, and celebrate life. The camp was held at CUNY’s Queensborough Community College in Bayside, Queens.

“Calvary’s CampCompass is a healing program that engages children, harnesses the power of creativity, and provides opportunities so they can bond and support each other,” said Edgardo Lugo, director of bereavement at Calvary.

“This week we featured puppet theater and puppet workshops — experiences which are particularly good when words are difficult or insufficient to express how you feel,” said Lugo, a registered play therapist supervisor and certified group psychotherapist.

Allowing children to project their thoughts and feelings onto the puppets and the narratives they create reduced the pressure and fear of judgment that children might feel when expressing their grief, according to behavioral health bereavement counselor Joanne Castellanos.

“It’s playful. It’s meaningful for children of all ages because theater gives them control over their environment and a different understanding of loss,” explained Castellanos.

The five-day camp, which hosted 50 children from throughout the city, ran August 11 to 15.

Why puppets help children heal

Puppets, especially hand puppets, are powerful tools in helping children cope with grief and loss, providing a developmentally appropriate way for children of all ages to process difficult emotions and experiences.

Puppets provide emotional distance and safety. Children can project their feelings onto the puppet, creating a layer of emotional distance that makes it less intimidating to express sadness, anger, fear, or confusion related to the loss. Puppets also provide a voice for children who may struggle to verbally articulate their grief directly to an adult. They can “say” things through the puppet that they are not yet ready to vocalize themselves.

Children often use puppets to reenact real-life or imagined scenarios related to the loss, helping them process the event, explore different feelings, and navigate difficult memories or transitions. Therapists can also use puppets to model appropriate responses and guide the child through difficult situations.

Puppets are naturally appealing to children and can transform potentially overwhelming discussions into a more playful and engaging experience. They naturally lend themselves to storytelling and role-play, allowing children to be creative and explore different scenarios and problem-solving strategies through imaginative play. The use of puppets creates a low-stakes environment, reducing the pressure on children to find the “right” words or directly confront their pain.