By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

Camp Journey, a partnership between the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby County Schools and COMPACT, is coming to Shelby County this summer.

The camp’s mission is to develop leadership, values and knowledge in each camper through a highly structured educational and adventurous camp experience. The camp also seeks to provide training and messages centered on values and traits, including integrity, character, courage, discipline and teamwork.

Camp Journey also aims to educate students on issues faced during adolescence and equip them with skills to navigate these challenges. Campers will be immersed in a Junior Citizens Police/Sheriff’s Academy, allowing them to see and experience first-hand what school resource officers and law enforcement officers do on a daily basis.

The camp is designed for rising sixth grade students and will be hosted at the following locations:

• Helena Middle School: June 9-13
• Louis Pizitz Middle School: June 16-19
• Thompson High School: June 23-27
• Oak Mountain Middle School: June 23-27
• Chelsea Middle School: July 7-11
• Pelham Park Middle School: July 14-18

The camp will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, and will be staffed by school resource officers from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Helena Police Department and COMPACT. Topics covered will include crisis negotiation, vape education, gun safety, team building, etiquette, bullying, social media, crime scene, special guest speakers, tactical response unit, wildlife trailer, UAV/UAS drones and 911 information.

The camp is free, with the only requirement being that campers be dropped off and picked up on time each day of the camp. Slots are limited to 50 campers per location. The application deadline for the camp passed on Thursday, May 1, but applications are still being taken until each camp is full.

Janae Pinson, a community resource coordinator with COMPACT, discussed the origins of the camp that began in 2018.

“The group of officers that were here (in 2018) decided to have a camp for upcoming sixth graders to help with the transition between fifth grade and sixth grade,” Pinson said. “With middle school comes new experiences, so it was a chance for us to bridge the gap between law enforcement, schools and families.”

Pinson emphasized that the camp is unique in that is entirely run by law enforcement officers.

“I don’t know of any other camp that does that in the county but us,” Pinson said. “They (campers) get to see an inside look into public safety… They get to have an up close and personal tour of what it’s like to be a law enforcement officer and what it takes to become one.”

Pinson explained the camp’s importance comes from its ability to inform students about the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement in a unique setting.

“I think kids unfortunately sometimes fear law enforcement for various reasons,” Pinson said. “We want kids to look at law enforcement in a positive light. We want them to look to law enforcement for help and (as) a safe place.”

Pinson further added that the benefits of the camp do not just extend to the campers, but the law enforcement officers on staff as well.

“There is always something to learn from kids,” Pinson said. “A lot of times they face things that we have no idea are even an issue for them. So, I think law enforcement gets to learn about how to address issues with kids.”

Pinson concluded by expressing her hopes for children who attend the camp.

“I hope that they will have a newfound confidence for making that transition to middle school,” Pinson said. “We want them to be able to go to middle school already familiar with the SRO that’s going to be at their school and also having new friends and… just being educated on different things that might be presented to them once they hit the middle school age.”

For more information on Camp Journey, visit Shelbyso.com/177/Camp-Journey.