Take a Hike partners with public school districts to engage vulnerable youth in a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom.
Their mission is to empower vulnerable youth with the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, navigate the challenges of young adulthood, and achieve success – however they define it. They do this by engaging youth in intentional and continuous clinical counselling, land-based learning, and supporting youth in a safe and caring community.
Take a Hike Foundation partners with public school districts to embed an alternate education program for vulnerable youth struggling in the mainstream school system. The school district partner provides high quality education, and Take a Hike integrates group and 1-on-1 clinical counselling as well as land-based learning that encourages connection with nature. Participating youth learn to build healthy relationships, navigate the challenges of young adulthood, and achieve success – however they define it – all while working towards high school graduation. Over the past 20-plus years, Take a Hike’s trauma-informed, evidence-based program has transformed the lives of hundreds of youth and their families in British Columbia, Canada, including increased high-school graduation rate among participating youth.
Our partnership has enabled the organisation to scale its programming across two regions in British Columbia – Vancouver Island and Thompson/Okanagan – where they see heightened needs, especially from underserved populations. Our funding has also catalyzed innovative models of operations to reduce costs and reach more youth through resource sharing between sites and recruitment and training of staff members.