Help youth reconnect to themselves & their communities
Our Spirit of Exploration Trips are taking place this season, offering youth experiencing vulnerability the chance to reconnect with themselves, the outdoors, and their local communities through overnight camping trips, hiking, kayaking, and more.
They’re a powerful reminder of what our community’s support makes possible, and what we’re able to protect thanks to our donors.
This year, programs are heading to spots like the Sayward Forest and Sechelt Inlet for canoeing, and Camp Potlatch and Manning Park for hiking. These trips ensure a meaningful close to the school year and help youth prepare for what comes next. They act as a culmination of both the counselling support our clinicians offer youth during the school year, and the skills and confidence the youth develop through the outdoor experiences the program provides.
Help us ensure more youth access experiences like these. Every contribution helps us to continue showing up for youth.
Becoming a monthly donor by joining our Monthly Mountain Giving Club is one of the best ways to provide the stability that allows us to keep showing up for the young people who rely on our programs.
Our Program Manager for Vancouver Island, Tristan, recently shared Jordan’s story. It speaks to everything the right kind of support makes possible — the sustained growth, the sense of belonging, and the chance to develop tools to build a future.
Jordan’s Story
Jordan sat across from Tristan and said nothing. Again. This had been the routine for at least the last six sessions.
Jordan joined Take a Hike (TAH) in Grade 10. Before, they had been to four different schools and lived in three different homes in a short space of time. They’d come across a lot of different adults and not a lot of consistency – many new places, lots of new faces. When they first started at TAH, Jordan was guarded, both with their peers as well as with the adults in the classroom.
After weeks of silence, Jordan decided to start talking to Tristan (who was the Mental Health Clinician for Jordan’s program at the time). They admitted the following:
“I hate opening up to people and then having to move on to a different school, program, or counsellor after I’ve laid everything on the table. It feels so awful. I’m left there on my own, with my struggles out in the open. It’s like I finally decide to do a puzzle, but all I’ve done is dumped the pieces out on the table and started flipping them over”.
Tristan responded by reassuring Jordan that they didn’t have to go anywhere and could stay in the program for Grade 11 and 12 if they wanted to; that this could be their community and Tristan would remain their counsellor for their time in the program. Almost instantly, Jordan looked physically relieved and the room felt lighter.
For the rest of that first year, Jordan continued to share openly in counselling sessions with Tristan and built relationships with their peers in the program. Tristan stayed connected with Jordan over the summer, and the following year when back in the program, they dug deep into some profound clinical work together. It became clear that Jordan knew they had friends and had a community.
By their third year, Jordan was a leader in the class. Together, Tristan and Jordan navigated the ups and downs of Grade 12 in their counselling sessions. Jordan helped to plan class out-days, was a constant source of encouragement for new youth, and began to pursue post-secondary education options. The program’s teacher and youth worker connected Jordan with schools and helped them apply to both admissions and scholarships. This led to them securing a spot at university.
Tristan shared the following reflection:
“I think about what Jordan’s experience would have been like if it had been cut short at a single year – how it took time for them to really open up to the idea of counselling, let alone get through anything tangible with me.”
Now in their second year of university, Jordan has reached out to Tristan to share how well they’re doing and will be returning to share their experience of going to post-secondary with current youth. The community Jordan once struggled to trust is one they now want to help build and give back to.
Change like Jordan’s doesn’t come from a single counselling session or a single year in the program. It was built gradually across three years that included consistent support from a clinician, a community that held steady, and enough time to finally feel safe. Jordan is now returning to offer that same sense of possibility to youth who are right where they once were.
There are youth in our programs right now who are just beginning to flip their puzzle pieces over. With your support, we can make sure they have the time to put them together.
Yes! I’ll support youth with a gift
