Fun Filled Summer

This summer in the HomeBridge Community was filled with creativity, growth, and adventure. The young people played a big role in choosing the outings for this year’s Summer Recreation Program, taking initiative and stepping in to new experiences that allowed them to explore recreation in meaningful ways. It was inspiring to watch them grow beyond their comfort zones and discover new strengths.

As always, our Recreation Therapist lead the team.  This year, however, he was not only supported by our Youth Care Teams, but also a Summer Recreation Programmer. This seasoned Youth Care Worker brought a wealth of experience, creativity and relational child and youth care skills which sparked new ideas and encouraged even more youth engagement.  This made for an incredible team that brought innovation and enthusiasm, ensuring that each moment was engaging and memorable for the young people who participated. The goal is always to engage the young people in healthy and age appropriate activities over the summer when they have the most down time.  This allows them to try new things, broaden their experiences and find hobbies and activities that can be as therapeutic as they are fun.

Activities ranged from relaxed brunch outings to two lively road trips to Magic Mountain, offering a balance of everyday connection and big summer highlights. Several young people were also connected with community sports teams this summer enjoying the full season of baseball and soccer and one even had a summer job placement. In totally the program created 235 hours of guided and meaningful activities for the young people as well as over 150 hours of independent community sport participation and work placement opportunities. 

“I wasn’t gonna get out of bed this morning, but every time you guys go do stuff, everyone has cool stories, so I had to come,” said once young person when the Recreation Therapist showed up at his program for a scheduled outing.  Many other young people proudly told stories about what they did over the summer when they returned to school.  These positive opportunities and experiences make a big difference to the young people who participate and they wouldn’t be possible without the support of the donors who fund this program. Thank you to the Home Depot Canada Foundation, Halifax Youth Foundation and Urchin Property Management for making this summer so special.