A Life-Changing program
The Need For Take A Hike
Approximately one in seven school-aged children in BC experience one or more mental health issues.
Only one third receive the specialized mental health treatments they need.
Between 50-70% of mental health and substance use issues show up before the age of 18.
The number one determinant of youth mental health is school connectedness, superceding family connectedness.
A Proven Model
The Take a Hike program model is supported by twenty years of practice-based evidence, academic research, and hundreds of youth realizing success.
Take a Hike empowers vulnerable youth to change the trajectory of their lives with a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom. Partnering with public school districts across BC, we engage youth in intensive, continuous clinical counselling, outdoor experiential learning, and community, supporting youth to develop the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, and navigate their own path to success.
Our Youth
Our youth are capable and motivated individuals who have experienced difficulty succeeding in the mainstream school system. Each of our youth has a unique background and life experience, and the program responds to their individual needs.
It is common for Take a Hike youth to be identified as needing additional support with behaviour or mental health (BC Ministry of Education ‘R’ or ‘H’ designations). Many have experienced some kind of trauma or mental health concerns and may have coped in destructive ways.
69% identified as male, and 31% as female
87% of youth came from families in financial need
13% identify as Indigenous and 23% as visible minorities
69% identified as male, and 31% as female
“Take a Hike gave me the opportunity to grow but I am the one who has to take the initiative and pull through all the hardship and lessons. Looking back, I am incredibly proud of my journey and how far everyone has come. It’s been an incredible two years, and my life has done a total 180 for the better”
Evaluation & Evidence Base
Program Evaluation Outcomes
Take a Hike evaluates youth for mental health and development indicators each year, to ensure the program is achieving our envisioned impact – that vulnerable youth are empowered to change the trajectories of their lives, and are resilient individuals who can navigate the challenges of young adulthood after they move on from Take a Hike.Last year we implemented a revised program outcome evaluation process, and are very pleased to present our first full year of results.
The Journey to Success
Transitioning to a new program and discovering self-belief and success after experiencing challenges in the mainstream school system, is a gradual process for youth.
A Unique Community
A team of four staff and up to twenty youth spend every school day together as well as two to three multi-day wilderness trips each year. Each program quickly begins to feel like a family.
Youth are engaged in the classroom, in the outdoors, and in their community.
Staff work alongside youth using an attachment-based, trauma-informed and relationship-centred approach.
Clinical counsellors begin each day by leading ‘circle’ – an opportunity to check in with youth mentally and emotionally, helping them feel seen and acknowledged, and mentally prepared to learn.
Staff communicate their strong belief in each youth’s ability to succeed.
The learning environment is safe and predictable.
Youth receive individualized support that meets their unique and changing needs
Bringing Kids Together
Reflecting on his experience at Take a Hike, Class of 2018 graduate Bernie Smith, said the sense of camaraderie stands out.
“Compared to a big high school, where you have lots of groups and not much interaction, Take a Hike is one big group of kids, so you never feel like you’re not part of the group,” he said. Bernie described the difference between what he’d experienced in mainstream school, where many kids felt social anxieties and pressure to fit in: “At Take a Hike, I felt like ‘we’re all in this together,’ I felt like I really connected to some of the kids.”