Prepared for Success

After graduating, Bradley has been a different person. He is doing well in school, making friends and even joined the Boy Scouts. But it hasn’t been perfect. As we were preparing to conduct the interview for this article, Scott almost canceled it due to some problems they were having with Bradley. The difference now is that they have the tools to work through problems.

Like at camp, the family has a pow-wow every evening where they discuss the day – what went well and what could have gone better. They also discuss what will be happening the next day. “Camp is still an accountability partner for Bradley,” Scott explains. “We ask, what would the chief say? How would your group respond to this behavior? We are constantly using the principles that we learned from camp to solve problems.”

For older brother Taylor, it’s like having a new brother. “Now when he makes a bad decision, he stops to think about it,” he observes. “We are able to have deep conversations as brothers about meaningful things. God definitely used Fair Play to change Bradley!”

“We are still on a journey. Every day we are committed to continued growth,” Scott comments. “Camp was a God-send. We have no idea where we would be without it. There is not a better place in the world where we could have sent Bradley for help! There is not a better support system for families.”

Then one day, help came in an unexpected way. At work, Scott was sharing their struggles with a coworker who suggested giving Fair Play Camp School a call. What did they have to lose? They got in contact with a family worker, Phil Hollinger.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” they recall. “Bradley was capable of being on his best behavior to control a situation. Taylor was afraid that he would be able to deceive Phil into thinking that everything was okay. We quickly saw that Phil could see through the smokescreen and understood what Bradley was trying to do.”

The Hawkins decided to give camp a try and Bradley agreed to go. In the fall of 2013, he joined the Pioneers. Soon after arriving, the group left for a five-day hiking trip. “That was the hardest thing I ever did physically,” Bradley recalls. “It showed me how out of shape I was.”

Bradley would experience many more difficult lessons in camp. “I thought it would be easier than it was,” he recalls.” He began to learn how to be open and honest, trust other people and accept responsibility for his actions. It was a difficult struggle at times and he reacted badly in many situations. For Bradley, hard physical work was very therapeutic.

In the next post: Going back home.