Family focus replaces anger

When 12-year-old Anthony met his mother’s domestic partner three years ago, he expressed his disapproval, throwing cursing fits and threatening to run away or commit suicide. His mother, Celia, doesn’t believe it had to do with Blue’s gender because her son had reacted similarly to her other new friends, male or female.

The youngster, who was taking medication to control his attention deficit disorder and severe emotional outbursts, didn’t want her to date anyone at all because her relationships were often dysfunctional. Anthony didn’t know his dad and had watched his mom’s live-in boyfriend beat her frequently when he was 5 and 6. Living in a gang-ridden neighborhood also wasn’t easy.

Camp helped Anthony lower his defenses.

“I remember the first year he went. He was scared,” his mother said. “I was so scared to send him, I didn’t tell them he had meds.... I thought they might not accept him.”

Despite the way he was acting at home, she said, he was, for the most part, fine at the UCLA UniCamp. And he came home a little more sure of himself, she said. She was so impressed by what camp did for her son, she sent her daughter with him the next year. They both have returned twice since then, with help from the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Fund.

“Camp is like a safe environment,” she said. “They get chores and activities. It’s a well-disciplined campground, which I like a lot.”

But the real stabilizing factor with Anthony has been Blue, who, according to Celia, understands her elder son better than she does. After all, Blue was the one who suggested that he didn’t need medication. With 12 years of experience as a foster parent, Blue believed a loving two-parent family would better help the troubled boy.

She was right. The preteen has learned to control his temper and he hasn’t taken any medication in a year, his mother said. Her two other children, Vanessa, 11, and Raymond, 7, also are happy with their new lifestyle. The family dines together each night and now lives in a suburban three-bedroom house with a yard.

“They still consider her like their father,” Celia said, adding that each of them gave her a gift on Father’s Day. Raymond made her a business card holder out of Popsicle sticks, Vanessa bought her a tool with her allowance while Anthony gave her one of his most prized possessions: a set of collectible cars.

What a change in expression.

About 11,000 children will go to camp this summer thanks to the $1.4 million raised last year.

The annual fund-raising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make credit card donations, visit www.latimes.com/

summercamp. To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash.

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