TAKE A HIKE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION

Since 2000, a small group of dedicated and passionate staff at a Vancouver alternative school program called Take a Hike have been empowering at-risk senior-high students to turn their lives around. The program includes teachers, youth and family workers, clinical therapists and an adventure-based-learning specialist. It provides an opportunity for students in grades 10 through 12, who don’t fit into the traditional classroom environment, to graduate, repair relationships with their family and better understand their own strengths and weaknesses. Many students accepted into Take a Hike have already dropped out of one or more alternative education programs. They may have experienced situations including abuse, family addictions, extreme poverty, hunger and violence. Take a Hike may be their last chance, and it’s a chance they deserve. Take a Hike’s average annual completion rates are more than 80 per cent. Life-skills tests show that Take a Hike helps students improve their self-esteem, connection to the school, communication skills, management of stress, and social skills. Students are not only graduating from high school, they are going on to professional trades programs and post-secondary school. The results are real. Our full time program combines academics, adventure based- therapy, therapy and community involvement. Weekly day trips and multi day expeditions enable youth to encounter challenges outside the classroom. Students engage with teachers trained to support youth in overcoming academic challenges. Therapists provide students with individual, group and family counselling and adventure based therapists engage with students in outdoor expeditions. Community involvement demonstrates that as members of a community, youth have a responsibility to others and their help is needed and valued by members of the community. The Take a Hike Foundation is governed by a volunteer 14-member board of directors who not only give of their time and expertise, they invest in the programs. The Take a Hike Foundation works to raise funds to support the needs of the program over and above what is provided by the School Board. Among other things, this includes daily meals, all the expeditions and gear students use, the full-time therapist and, in some districts, the adventure-based-learning specialist. At Take a Hike, the wilderness often serves as a classroom. Academics and environmental education are incorporated into many aspects of the outdoor trips. Students are given assignments to complete during or after their outings. The adventure-based learning activities focus on real-life situations and experiences that require problem-solving, peer dependence, goal setting, leadership, and commitment. The students gain constructive and character-building experiences as they conquer what can appear to be overwhelming challenges. Students develop self-directed goals, trust, communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills. It also provides a safe and supportive environment for building self-esteem and self-motivation. Therapists accompany students on all adventure-based learning activities, allowing for deeper personal transformation.