Camp for children of gay parents offers acceptance and refuge

Gail Shister delivers an inspiring review of Mountain Meadow - one of the country's few camps for children in GLBT families.

Gail writes, "At this unusual overnight camp, in South Jersey, no one asks youngsters who their real parents are or why their family's not normal. And that makes all the difference."

She reports that a total of 64 kids, most from the Philadelphia area but also from Maryland and New York, attended this summer's two-week session - which ended a week ago.

In the Philadelphia area, one third of same-sex couples were raising at least one child. The 2000 census confirms over 4,300 gay households in the region. Heather Batson - research associate for Philadelphia Health Management Corporation - says demographic trends show the numbers increasing.

Mountain Meadow's website explains its mission and offers picture galleries from the past few years.

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer; Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel / Inquirer Staff Photographer
Image: Randi Sherman, Mountain Meadow's director