Mental Health Through Hiking

Team Wilderness is a youth development organization that uses an experiential educational model to teach urban teenagers teamwork, leadership, and character.

Team Wilderness helps to promote confidence,  consideration for peers, compassion for the world, and resilience both as an individual and a group.  With Team Wilderness, youth experience hiking, backpacking, and numerous outdoor activities during single-day and overnight trips.  Facing physical and social challenges, young people learn to adapt and develop real-life problem-solving skills while at the same time overcoming fears and obstacles.

HealthierJC + Team Wilderness

Team Wilderness helps build a Culture of Health by taking Jersey City youth out of their urban comfort zone and into the wilderness to face and overcome mental and physical challenges. In response, teens recognize what is necessary to be their best self and live a healthy and balanced life.

Being part of the Partnership for a HealthierJC allowed Team Wilderness to foster and develop relationships with other organizations doing similar youth outreach. Collaborations with Hunters World and Partners in Prevention have expanded youth involvement in mental wellness through outdoor excursions.  Working together with HealthierJC, the collective reach and scope of their youth programming stays connected to the community and focused on enhancing the quality of life for all Jersey City residents.

How was the Mini-Grant Used?

Team Wilderness used the 2023 HealthierJC mini-grant to fund several North Star Project Mindfulness Hikes.  The North Star Project integrates outdoor activity with clinical care and support.  During program hikes, a licensed social worker facilitated various mindfulness and teambuilding activities and linked the challenges, solutions, and social connections of daily life with the outdoor experience.

During the program, youth developed a relationship with the outdoors, increasing their desire to connect and spend more time in nature.  Counselors encouraged the development of coping skills to navigate life’s challenges and self-reflection to combat stress and anxiety.  The program also promoted team building and collaboration, which fostered a sense of peer community and a commitment to positively participate in the wider Jersey City community.

With the mini-grant, Team Wilderness funded the participation of 16 minority, low-Income teens from across all Jersey City wards in the North Star Project Mindfulness Hikes program.  These young people benefited from a free program designed to address mental health issues like depression, anxiety, identity exploration, body image, motivation, self-esteem, isolation, and attention disorders. 

Making a Difference…

“Youth relieve anxiety and get a sense of empowerment from tackling challenging outdoor activities such as rappelling down the side of a cliff.”
— Vanessa Reina, Principal Counselor/Social Worker, Team Wilderness

The mini-grant funds were used for the North Star counseling program, which, Reina said, “allowed us to support youth in a much more holistic manner.”

With North Star, youth meet with a licensed social worker each week and take part in monthly outdoor trips, which builds healthy relationships, self-awareness, and mindfulness. 

Reina cites a February hike as particularly memorable. “We were struggling through the snow and up the mountain,” she recalled. “It was quiet and serene with fresh snow except for the crunch of our boots and our labored breathing.”  She said participants looked out for each other and made sure they had someone to lean on, both physically and metaphorically.

One youth said that the hike allowed him to feel a stronger sense of community with his peers, and he learned that he didn’t have to face challenges alone.  “There are people who care, are willing to listen, and get you through those tough moments.”

“Connecting with the natural world reminds our teens that they belong in nature too, though the outdoor industry caters to predominantly white and middle/upper class people,” Reina said.

Thanks to the mini-grant, Team Wilderness can provide these services at no cost to Hudson County youth, regardless of household income.  Said Reina, “It has been a gift to support youth and guide them as they figure out who they want to be in this world.”

For more information, visit the Team Wilderness website at https://www.teamwilderness.org/.