Take a Hike Coquitlam
In partnership with SD 43 and based at the Terry Fox Secondary School.
Opened in 2024 and serves up to 20 youth.
For intake information, please contact Andrea Hunter (Assistant Superintendent Learning Services) at ahunter@sd43.bc.ca
Applicants will be interviewed and notified of their status. Upon acceptance to the program, youth must sign a medical clearance form before attending classes.
Take a Hike empowers vulnerable youth through a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom. Over the past 25 years, Take a Hike has supported over 2,000 youth, to change the trajectory of their lives.
Take a Hike partnered with School District 43 in September 2024 to open the Coquitlam program at Terry Fox Secondary School. Together, we engage up to 20 youth each year by combining high quality education with intentional, continuous clinical counselling, community initiatives, and land-based learning. We empower youth with the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, and achieve success – however they define it.
As the youth mental health crisis continues to grow across Canada, the demand for Take a Hike’s transformative program is rising. Take a Hike demonstrates the powerful combination of mental health supports and land-based learning, as youth report a greater sense of purpose, community and self-awareness and are more likely to graduate high school.
While in the Take a Hike program:
90%
of eligible Grade 12s graduated
76%
report significant mental health improvements
96%
of youth reported learning skills and knowledge to be successful in the workplace
Youth in the Coquitlam program regularly explore the outdoors and engage in community building opportunities that the area offers. Powerful moments of transformation often take place during these experiences. On a kayaking trip in Pitt Lake and Widgeon Creek, there was a period of low energy amongst the youth; instead of giving in to the lull, the group decided to take on a 2km hike upriver. That decision led to a beautiful river pool and the chance to cool off, explore sun-bathed stream stones, see eagles, do some fishing, and reconnect with each other. Moments such as these highlight what is possible when perseverance is combined with self-belief and provide safe spaces for the youth to support each other and develop new forms of resilience.
