Take a Hike Simcoe County
In partnership with Simcoe County District School Board.
Opened in 2025 and serves up to 20 youth from grades 10-12.
For intake information, please contact John Playford at jplayford@scdsb.on.ca (available September – June).
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 1,000 youth across BC to change the trajectory of their lives.
While in the Take a Hike program:
76%
report significant mental health improvements
96%
of youth reported learning skills and knowledge to be successful in the workplace
99%
reported having safety in expressing their feelings at Take a Hike
After decades of measurable success in BC, Take a Hike has expanded to launch the first Ontario-based program in partnership with Simcoe County District School Board. Opening in September 2025, we will work with the school board to engage youth by combining high quality education with intentional, continuous clinical counselling, community initiatives, and land-based learning. We will empower youth with the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, and achieve success – however they define it.
- Ontario youth are facing unprecedented mental health challenges:
- 1 in 10 Ontario students did not graduate from high school in 2023
- 1 in 5 indicate moderate-to-serious level of psychological distress
- 1 in 5 report harming themselves on purpose
- 1 in 6 had serious thoughts about suicide in the past year
- 3 in 10 rate their ability to cope with unexpected and difficult problems as fair or poor
Youth are more able to access and utilize mental health and well-being supports when they are integrated directly into their education setting. Youth in the Simcoe program will be supported within the classroom and beyond, as the program includes weekly land-based learning out days.
These activities are a safe and powerful way for youth to develop new sources of resilience and confidence and provide a chance for them to rediscover themselves and their peers in a new context. Our Simcoe program will benefit from the beauty and accessibility of the province’s parks, waterways, hiking trails and stunning landscapes, which will provide the setting for meaningful, transformative out days and optional overnight trips.
