Annual Mentee Initiation Retreat

"I think there is something mysterious and yet exact inside a boy. If it doesn't find expression, then what is potentially constructive and creative becomes destructive. I think it's one of those situations where there's no middle ground. Either the spirit inside a person is going to make its way into the world and be received as a gift, or else it's going to make its way into the world and be received as a pain or a blow by the community. If you don't initiate your boys into the heart of the culture, they will burn it down." - Michael Meade

The changing landscape of American society is leaving many of our "at-risk" youth in more tenuous states than ever before. In our position as a front-line provider of services to these young people we see the results of increasingly agitated, distrustful and disengaged children first hand. We felt we had to do more. So, we created two wilderness "initiation" retreats: one for our boys and one for our girls.

Boys Participate in Mask Making

The retreats are conducted by an amazing team of knowledgeable and loving men and women. These adults help our young people begin to deal with their own coming of age, commit to their own successful future and take the fullest advantage of the guidance they can receive from their mentors.

Girls on the High Ropes

Unlike indigenous societies throughout history, our society does little to train our youth for the rigors of adult life through rites of passage or initiation. Gangs have sprung up to fill the void as shallow caricatures of the real thing. Not knowing any better, they mistake violence for bravery and replace compassion with callousness. The result is a spiral into delinquency, violence, teenage pregnancy, and child abuse that drags society downward. While three days in the mountains will not solve all of these social ills, it does go a long way toward helping our young people see a different way for themselves.

Our young people find courage and clarity on the mountain. They participate in rituals and activities like Mask Making and Challenge Courses to overcome their fears. Most importantly, they get to be themselves and find an environment in which they can open up, reveal some of their emotional wounds, and receive a measure of healing.