by Zelda Mayer, guest contributor
In our programs, 100% of youth will be taken outside of their neighborhood and introduced to a new environment. This is how new places create new possibilities.
Chicago Voyagers helps expose more than 400 youth per year to the natural world around them, expanding their understanding of what is possible. Our relationship-based outdoor adventure programming is based on a foundational principle of experiential learning. We do this by giving young people the opportunity to experience new environments coupled with new skills and activities.
How Isolation Hurts
Although Chicago is the 7th most diverse city in the United States, it is also one of the most segregated. Unfortunately, Chicago has developed a reputation for gun violence and racial disparities in health, including the now-infamous “Death Gap” — a 30-year difference in life expectancy between the majority Black neighborhood of Englewood and the majority white neighborhood of Streeterville. We see the segregation of resources in our city everywhere from quality of education to access to jobs; in 2016, 700,000 jobs were located within a 30-minute commute on public transit from the Loop and North Side, compared to just 50,000 jobs located within 30 minute from the South Side (Great Cities Institute 2017). The consequences are dire for young people; years of structural racism and disinvestment have created an urban environment where many youth are given more access to guns than resources for growth.
Segregation of resources can also be seen in access to green spaces (which, as we discussed in our last blog, is incredibly healing and serves as a protective factor against traumatic stress). In Illinois, 21% of white people live in nature deprived areas, while 77% of people of color live in nature deprived areas (Center for American Progress, 2020). Coming predominantly from Chicago’s underinvested, high-need communities such as Englewood, Belmont-Cragin, North Lawndale, Little Village, and suburbs such as Addison and Cicero, the youth we serve are challenged by physical, cultural, communication, and socioeconomic barriers. Our youth often do not have the opportunity to explore the world beyond the confines of their concrete neighborhoods – to get out into nature – the perfect place to be active, learn readily transferable lessons, and develop critical life skills such as teamwork, empowerment, and responsible behavior.
As we have seen acutely during the pandemic, the negative effects of social isolation on mental health can be devastating. “Social isolation seems to influence the predisposition, onset, and outcome of PTSD” (Vlachos et. al. 2020), meaning that social support and trauma are almost inextricably linked. Inadequate access to resources compounds these traumas and sends a powerful and isolating message to youth: that their lives do not matter.
Why Exposure Matters
Novelty and new experiences are important to adolescent development and fostering critical skills. In his book Exposure is Key: Solving Violence By Exposing Teens to Opportunities, Jahmal Cole — activist and founder of My Block My Hood My City — discusses the crucial role that new experiences can have on teens’ development and life outcomes:
“Millions of dollars are spent on preventative healthcare. There are mammograms to screen for breast cancer and colonoscopy screens for colon cancer. I think millions of dollars need to be spent on exposure. When you expose kids to more options and opportunities, it reduces their inclination toward violence, giving them the ability to make their own decisions and regulate their behavior.”
In Chicago Voyagers’ own work and experience, we have seen that exposure to new places is critical to instilling a sense of hope and possibility. 100% of our youth participants are exposed to new environments through our outdoor adventure programs. Chicago Voyagers makes this possible by committing to removing barriers to participation in nature, including the financial resources necessary to participate in activities such as sailing or kayaking. Everything—including clothing and equipment—is provided at no cost to the teens.
Novelty and exposure is especially important for young people due to the physiology of brain development (Smithsonian Magazine 2017). The adolescent brain is especially plastic and responsive to new experiences, and teenagers are biologically primed to explore and seek out new experiences as their brains increase in complexity. As the saying goes, the “neurons that fire together, wire together,” so good novel experiences can deeply impact young people during this heightened period of learning and neuroplasticity.
Outdoor adventure therapy creates an opportunity not only for exposure to a new physical environment, but also provides a form of controlled risk that supports brain development. Our outdoor programming includes carefully crafted physical and emotional challenges designed to enhance self-esteem and build self-sufficiency, and each contains basic elements, including journals, discussion topics, and experiential activities. Mentorship is a key component we utilize in outdoor adventures, providing an experienced guide (program leader) and trained volunteers to support youth in stepping outside their comfort zones and entering a new environment. By giving young people the opportunities to experience the outdoors and the skills needed to navigate challenges successfully, we help expand their understanding of what is possible. Our model works: based on post-surveys of youth served, 92% showed an increase in responsibility, 94% showed an increase in confidence, and 92% showed an increase in teamwork.
What You Can Do
Donate: All our programs are completely free for participants, including transportation, nutritious meals, and all the gear needed for their journeys.
Volunteer: Mentorship is key to our model. Youth with mentors in their lives are 46% less likely to use drugs, 27% less likely to abuse alcohol, and 52% less likely to skip school according to a research project by the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Whether helping guide youth on their journey or supporting our mission behind-the-scenes, all skill levels and experiences are welcome.
Learn more: You can learn even more about the issue of inaccessibility of the outdoors and our approach in our September 2020 blog post Youth Outdoors.
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