A Unique Community
At Take a Hike, youth are supported by consistent, secure, and caring relationships in an environment that is safe and predictable.
Youth spend intensive shared time and learning with staff and classmates, leading to strong, healthy attachments that foster personal growth and well-being.
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 predicatable.
Youth receive individualized support that meets their unique and changing needs
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 and complex 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.
87% of youth came from families in financial need
13% identified 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.”
Bringing Kids Together
Alumni Reflection - Meet Bernie
“The camaraderie of the class stands out to me. 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. At Take a Hike, I felt like ‘we’re all in this together.’”