It Takes A City To Set Up Camp

Dalleona Parker did not always go swimming during her summer vacations. That changed when, last year, she participated for the first time in New Haven’s Police Activities League Summer Youth Camp.

In an opening ceremony at Wilbur Cross High School’s gymnasium, a plethora of big adults and officials from around New Haven officially kicked off the fourth summer program that is all about children.

Mayor Toni Harp, Police Chief Dean Esserman and Assistant Chief Archie Generoso were all among those present at the ceremony on early Tuesday morning. But the ones that really mattered were those crouching, sitting down on the hard gymnasium floor — the children.

The PAL camp, as it is affectionately referred to by organizers and children alike, offers daily activities for New Haven youth between the ages of eight and 13 and lasts five weeks. Police officers from multiple institutions, such as the Yale Police Department and Southern Connecticut State University, assist New Haven officers in running the program.

As the nearly 20 speakers took their turn in addressing those present, one common theme rang out: a focus on the children.

“[The program] provides hundreds of children with the chance to stay healthy, safe and productive,” Harp said. ​“They enjoy all good things about the summer, instead of [spending] a summer home alone.”

Yale Police Department’s Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Patten expressed similar sentiments, and said the program provides children the opportunity of interacting positively with police officers.

“Kids are the future,” Patten said. ​“This is an investment for the future.”

Harp also interacted with the children; she walked around the gymnasium upon arriving, bending down and personally saying good morning to the multiple groups of children who had been separated by their ages for the day’s activities.

According to New Haven Police Department’s Sgt. Elisa Tuozzoli, typical camp activities include team sports, classes in arts and crafts, music, reading, language arts and mathematics and weekly field trips. Campers also participate in workshops on basic 911 emergency responses and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Parker, who recently completed sixth grade, noted that the ​“so, so many activities” provided by the program are what attracted her to sign up for the second consecutive year. At the table where she sat, other children nodded their heads in agreement.

Mykel Richardson and Kamariyah Caldwell are first-timers to the camp this year, and said they had heard from friends about the PAL camp.

The two are not the only newcomers: this year’s camp is five times the size of the first camp. This year, 360 campers are signed up, an increase in 90 children from last year.

“We don’t believe in limits,” Esserman said. He added that any student that applies to the camp, which is completely free to all, is accepted. Breakfast and lunch are both included in the program, and free bus service is also available at local police substations.

For Yale football head coach, Tony Reno, the program is all about ​“developing young people.” He was not just referring to the camp’s participants, but also to the incoming freshmen on the football team that volunteer as camp counselors each year.

This year, between 15 to 20 freshmen are already on campus to participate in training. After their practices, the players will lead the children in various daily activities.

“The kids just sort of naturally gravitate towards them,” Tuozzoli said, chuckling. ​“They see these big, nice, muscular guys. It’s been a great collaboration.” She added that members of Youth At Work also work as volunteers at the camp.

Overall, nearly 30 community partners collaborate to help make the program a success, showing that sometimes, it really does take a village to raise a child. Or keep it occupied during the summer months.

“People always ask me why we started this camp,” Esserman said. ​“Because we needed to. We needed to for the children.”