UTC Assistant Professor Katelyn Hancock and graduate student Kaitlin Brown were volunteers this summer at Camp HOPE America Chattanooga. Photo courtesy of Dr. Katelyn Hancock.
As the summer sun rose over the treetops at YMCA Camp Ocoee, Dr. Katelyn Hancock recalled, a group of teenagers stood silently watching the first light stretch across the water.
“It was still dark outside. Some of our Camp HOPE youth probably haven’t been backpacking or in the woods very much, and they were fearless in that they wanted to get out in the middle of the woods with the spiderwebs freshly webbed and the sun rising above the lake,” said Hancock, an assistant professor in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Department of Criminal Justice. “They wanted to see that.”
The sunrise was just one snapshot from a week full of connection, courage and growth at Camp HOPE America Chattanooga—a trauma-informed summer program serving youth who have experienced violence in their families or communities.
Operated by Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, Camp HOPE typically serves children and teens ages 7 to 17, though exceptions are made for younger children and returning teens in leadership roles. The 2025 summer camp, held July 28 through Aug. 1, was the culmination of year-round mentoring, group activities and one-on-one support.
A total of 61 campers participated this summer, with 107 youth currently enrolled in the mentoring program overall.
Michelle Howard, program manager for Camp HOPE America Chattanooga, said the camp isn’t just about getting away for a few days. It’s the centerpiece of an effort designed to provide stability, belonging and long-term healing.
“One week of overnight camp is equivalent to six months of therapy,” Howard explained. “We provide case management services throughout the year, but the camp gives kids something different. It allows healthy relationship building. It gives them an opportunity to talk and share their feelings in a safe way and to have fun doing it.”
Camp HOPE America Chattanooga photo courtesy of Partnership for Families, Children and Adults
This year’s camp marked Hancock’s first time volunteering at Camp HOPE. Also volunteering was Kaitlin Brown, a UTC graduate student in the Master of Science in Criminal Justice program who has been involved with Camp HOPE for three years, starting as an intern in 2023.
This summer, she wasn’t just volunteering; she was conducting research.
Working closely with Howard and Hancock, Brown designed and administered a survey at camp to explore the role of belonging in the healing process for both campers and staff. Her work will serve as the foundation for her master’s thesis, a project that began taking shape earlier this year.
“I was in a class with Dr. H and I was hearing all my classmates talking about their thesis or if they were going to take the comprehensive exam,” said Brown, who earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from UTC in December 2024. “I was like, ‘I want to write a thesis.’”
A native of Summertown, Tennessee, Brown is on pace to graduate with her master’s degree in December 2026. While she has long envisioned a career in higher education, Camp HOPE has broadened her path.
“I still want to be a professor—that’s kind of where I want to end up—but I’ve really thought about entering the path of a children’s advocate,” she said. “Children are a population that doesn’t get heard because they’re so young.
“I’ve experienced that myself—feeling not heard—and I want to be able to provide that for kids.”
Howard said the connection with UTC, and the chance to collaborate on data collection and research, “is more than a partnership. It’s a support system.”
“It’s inspiring, and it gives us a strength—a backbone—to the data piece of our program,” she said. “It helps us hone in on where we can go, how we can make a bigger impact and how we can really spread hope throughout these families in a better way.”
Camp HOPE America Chattanooga photo courtesy of Partnership for Families, Children and Adults
Camp HOPE America Chattanooga, launched locally in 2020, is part of a national model that originated in California. The program serves children who have experienced trauma such as domestic violence, sexual assault or community violence. Campers participate in one-on-one and group mentoring activities.
“This year, we had four teenagers who aged out of the camper program and became camp counselors,” Howard said. “It was the first time we were able to take teenagers and mentor them into becoming camp counselors. That was a highlight for us.”
Brown, already a familiar face at Camp HOPE, played a lead role in helping train those new counselors.
“She helped us plan and facilitate a training,” Howard said. “She led our surveys. She encouraged the staff and managed the survey collection. Her mindset is to change the future for the better for anybody who comes on her journey.”
One of Camp HOPE’s foundational practices, Hancock said, is its “challenge-by-choice” philosophy, which encourages campers to step out of their comfort zones without forcing participation. An example was during the high ropes activity, where campers and volunteers navigate an elevated obstacle course that ends in a zipline.
“I got up there and did the high ropes too,” Hancock said. “We emphasize: You don’t have to do it. But if you want to challenge yourself, you can.”
“There’s a lot of evidence behind the ‘challenge-by-choice’ concept,” Howard said. “Kids who’ve experienced trauma can feel like they have a bear growling in their ear all the time. They live in that heightened sense of fear. So we talk about whether they’re in their comfort zone, challenge zone or panic zone. We learn best and grow most when we’re in our challenge zone.”
Hancock said the work she and Brown are doing with Camp HOPE ties directly into broader discussions within criminal justice research, particularly around adverse childhood experiences—known as ACEs.
“A lot of our theories talk about how kids without strong social bonds—who’ve experienced ACEs—are more likely to follow a path of violence,” Hancock said. “What research is showing now is that when you can intervene and provide pro-social things, it gives them a way to change paths.”
Camp HOPE America Chattanooga photo courtesy of Partnership for Families, Children and Adults
Camp HOPE’s impact plays out in small moments and significant breakthroughs, Hancock said, recalling one rafting trip in particular.
“My group created a chant. They said, ‘Dip down!’ and screamed that as they paddled,” she said. “We all came together to try to paddle through the rapids and get ourselves unstuck. That’s something that Camp HOPE does: it brings people together and lets them work together and overcome hurdles.”
Brown said she’s already seeing that kind of impact on the campers she’s worked with.
“This year I was with an older group of teenage girls,” she said. “It allowed me to use different approaches—mindfulness, self-love, coping techniques—from what I’ve learned in school and from Michelle and the Partnership team.”
When one camper said she was interested in criminal justice, Brown and Hancock spent time with her talking about the field, their own experiences and UTC’s program.
“We were both like, ‘Let’s spend 30 minutes talking about the program we’re both a part of,’” Brown recalled. “That was really cool.”
Howard said that kind of mentoring is what the program is all about.
“The kids see these adults’ eyes light up when they walk in the door and it gives them a feeling of belonging, of being wanted and needed and important in someone’s life,” she said.
Brown’s nickname at camp is “Miss KK,” and she’s been embraced by returning campers each year she’s been involved.
“All week, I definitely heard ‘Miss KK’ throughout camp,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll be back next year.”
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