Youth Odyssey facilitates a variety of programs with a wide range of participants. All of them come from different backgrounds and different levels of outdoor experience. One program in particular is very special. In that program we know a little more about our participants, and because of that we can implement curriculum focused to fit their needs. Being able to do that makes for more effective facilitation and impactful experiences.
Knowing Your Audience
Youth Odyssey Public Housing Program Trips and Ropes Courses
When working with people, it's important to know the audience. Every lesson created by a Youth Odyssey program facilitator is created from scratch and is tailor fitted for each group of students. The housing programs with Youth Odyssey run for three weeks, and the youth to meet four times a week with their facilitator. Over this time period, it is the facilitator's job to create a relationship with the group and begin to develop them into successful and prepared citizens.
Being the Difference
Youth Odyssey staff strive to be the best role models for every participant that comes into one of the programs. Being a role model takes many forms. It could look like being someone to listen, someone to help with homework, or someone to show interests in students' hobbies. As facilitators we understand that things come at us in so many different ways so we attempt to be prepared for them all. One great facilitation tool is the outdoors! This works for so many reasons, for example, the health benefits, mental and spiritual benefits and even social skills.
Outside Resources
There is a great webinar that discusses the benefits from the outdoors for youth in public housing. In this video Dr. Christine Norton investigates the many positive benefits and influences that time in the outdoors can have on youth. Her study was conducted at a public housing center in Texas, where they met with youth for an extended period of time. Dr. Norton and Youth Odyssey understand the values that can come from the outdoors, and want to provide that to those who wouldn't otherwise have access to it. The resources that Youth Odyssey provides are not to commonly found in Corpus Christi, and housing communities often have an especially difficult time trying to provide them.
Bridging the Gap
It's important to recognize that public housing communities have limited access to certain resources. It's equally important for others to see that it is in fact possible to provide these resources to youth in those communities that can greatly benefit from them. Marginalized communities tend to have limited access to the outdoors, so Youth Odyssey steps in and provides exactly that. Not only do we utilize the outdoor spaces like parks, lakes and rivers, but other programs like outdoor appreciation, conservation. In doing so we open the eyes of our youth to what they have access to in the Coastal Bend and beyond.
The overall goal in working with public housing communities is to eliminate the gap between their community and the benefits of the outdoors. Studies have shown that simply being outside has both mental and physical benefits. It generates and creates stronger social connections with their peers and with nature. The youth in our housing programs grow a substantial amount in part because of our curriculum that teaches essential life skills.
Be an Ambassador of the Outdoors
Like mentioned earlier, we see the importance in working with every single participant that joins a Youth Odyssey program. However, there is a need for organizations like Youth Odyssey to continue making their way into public housing communities. There are free resources that our youth have access to that could change their life. It's the job for organizations like Youth Odyssey to show students how to learn from nature and harness all the potential benefits. As outdoor professionals, there are many ways that we can impact lives and change them forever. One of them is by showing everyone all the benefits that they can receive from getting outside. Whether you visit more parks, volunteer to clean a beach, journal about what is in your backyard, there are many ways for the youth in the coastal bend to grow in the outdoors!
