'Hurricane Camp' opens for kids still out of school

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There's something about the inhibition of a summer camp. No rules, no homework, no wrong answers.

What you don't see at Main Street Theater's summer camp is what so many of these kids have been through.

"During the flood there was no electricity for us," said 10-year-old Maggie Oxford.

"My house flooded four-and-a-half feet," 7-year-old Kyler Durvin said.

"I knew it was going to happen, but I didn't know that it would like this," said 10-year-old Quinn Shefman.

To make matters worse for many families, school is still out for the summer.

Kolter Elementary in southwest Houston was flooded so badly it won't open at all this year.

Their new school isn't due to open until Sept. 25th, a full month past schedule.

That's why Main Street Theater's summer camp is called "Hurricane Camp."

"They get to move and run around," explained Jonathan Gonzales, the theatre group's Director of Education. "That's something they haven't had a chance to do a lot the week before."

At the height of Harvey, the theater group offered camps to 500 kids at a time.

Camps were free at first, then $30 a day.

Just when the camps were scheduled to close, Kolter Elementary parents started asking teachers to extend the camp.

Camp directors agreed, and the camp continues.

It's now $50 a day.

"This is amazing," said mother Laura Gee. "I get to go back to work, which is nice because we have been out of work for a little while."

The idea behind the camp is to use theatre as therapy.

Hurricane camp is a safe place for kids to express thoughts, feelings, and worries.

"Kids do watch a lot. They watch a lot more than we give them credit for and so they're taking in everything that's going on," Gonzalez explained. "They see the world three times their size and they're still strong and they still go forward and they still have a sense of play."

You can find more information on the camp here.

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