Youth Alive! has had an amazing summer so far with the help of the funds from the Stewardship Counsel. We are committed to being a bridge between local organizations and resources, to create a strong network to support the youth of our communities. We are supported by the Mateel Community Center (MCC), the Southern Humboldt Family Resource Center (SHFRC), and Humboldt State University’s Leadership Education Adventure Program (LEAP). This summer, our Outdoor Adventures program has organized a trip to the local Mendocino Adventure Ropes Course, a day of kayaking and canoeing on our local Eel river, an overnight hike at the mouth of the Mattole river, and we are looking forward to our rafting trip , two rock climbing days, and an overnight mountain biking trip still to come before September. Thanks to the Stewardship Counsel, we offer our services free of charge to local youth (though we gladly accept donations from families that can afford to give). The feedback from our program has been overwhelmingly positive, as seen in the evaluations that we provide at the end of each trip. The majority of our teens have never before been able to participate in the activities that we provide, as well as have never seen the parts of the county that we visit. Our program is truly grassroots, organized just one year ago by local recent college graduates, and we look forward to many more years in action!

One example is in two young men that moved to the Southern Humboldt area just two weeks ago. The two cousins came on our overnight hike at the mouth of the Mattole river (their first hike in their lifetime), and were not only exposed to our amazing coastline, but also made new friendships with local teens on the trip. It was a great beginning to their brand new residency here in Southern Humboldt, and they both wrote of their gratitude in their journals on the trip:
“I am very glad I came on this trip because I met a lot of really awesome people, learned new games, and had a ton of great experiences. I can’t wait for the next one! ”
—E, 12 years old