Hope House: Camp Counselor Tyron

♪ (soft music) ♪

My mom was like,
"You're going to camp."

I was like, "Camp?"

I said, "I'm too big for camp, I'm 14."

She was like, "But, see,
your father really wants you to go,

and it's a camp for you
to go see your father."

And I was still skeptical, I was like,

"Where do we camp at, in a prison?"

"Because I don't want
to camp in no prison."

(splashing, laughter)

Yeeeee-hawww!

(Tyron) She was like,
"No, you camp outside the prison,

"and then you go there
during the days to go see him."

(Tyron) When he was first imprisoned
there was a glass,

and you had to talk to him
through a phone.

And I hated that.

Oh my goodness.

Like--

mm-mm.

Talking through a phone

and being with someone--
having that conversation--

it's totally two different things.

You can't hug nobody through a phone.

(talking quietly, patting)

(kids chattering)

(Tyron) I wanted to be a counselor
because I wanted to give back,

because I know it's difficult
to not be able to see your father.

So I feel as though,
if I can help them through this process,

like all the other counselors
from when I was a camper helped me,

I feel as though
it would be a good deed.

So that's why I chose
to be a counselor.

When he gets out,
I'm going to be very old. (laughs)

I'm going to be--

like 30.

So that's a long time.

But when he gets out of prison,
I just want him to say he's proud of me,

that I didn't follow
down the same road he did,

and I learned from his mistakes,

and that he's proud of me.

♪ (soft music) ♪