Camp Corazones is a refuge for children of families dealing with not just the complication of HIV/AIDS, but its remaining stigma. The ravages of stigma afflict many families who still suffer in silence. Those who are rendered most victimized by this stigma are the children. Too many suffer a social isolation no child should have to experience. No child should be left to feel this alone.
Wake Up Call Segment Host/Producer MK Mendoza speaks with Founder and Executive Director, Jewel Cabeza de Vaca about Camp Corazones, one of three camps in the entire United States that allows these children and others afflicted by illness four days out of the year, to experience normal childhood, unriddled with shame. It is an entirely volunteer run organization and partners with the Girls and Boys Club as well as The National Guard to bring those children whose families are impacted by HIV/AID happy memories of childhood and a place to belong. In Part Two of this series, Jewel discusses the importance that only 4 days can make in these children's lives to be able to find peer support and be freed of the stigma. She also translates the experience of what it means to be stigmatized, the sense of invisibility and shame that surrounds these families. As a lead advocate for this community, she offers a rare glimpse into intimate lives of those within our communities and the challenges they face.