WELCOME TO THE POLICE YOUTH CHALLENGE
We are happy to have you join us for a day of community-building, & conversation with Police Officers!
The mission of this program is to change the perceptions between youth and police in our city. Our vision is that this will lead to sustainable change that addresses the challenges our communities face, while also providing opportunities for youth and police to build meaningful relationships and connections.
Youth join City Police Officers for a day facilitated by Outward Bound staff. These small groups spend the day having fun, talking to one another, solving group challenges, and supporting each other through collaborative activities.
To learn more about the Police Youth Challenge program and the impact it is having in our community, CLICK HERE.
REGISTRATION FORM: Complete the online registration form before you arrive! You'll get that emailed or texted from someone at your organization.
WATER BOTTLE
LUNCH? Coordinate with your group if you should pack a lunch or if your group is providing lunch for you.
SHOES: Athletic, close-toed shoes (that might get wet and muddy!).
CLOTHES: Comfortable, active-wear clothes. Dress for the weather – we will be outside all day!
MEDICATION: Emergency medications such as inhalers, epi-pens, insulin, etc…
DON’T BRING ELECTRONICS OR CELL PHONES. We will provide a safe space to store cell phones during the program. We ask all our participants to put phones away to be present throughout the day and not risk the chance of phones getting broken or lost during our activities.
Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound’s Police Youth Challenge program brings together small groups of youth and police officers. OB facilitators will use group challenges, hands-on problem-solving activities, and discussion circles to build a safe environment for every participant to learn, listen, and support their crew for the day.
Outward Bound facilitators use reflective questioning to help the group process their experience and take learning from their Outward Bound program back to real life.
Many groups who come to our Baltimore Campus are able to use our high ropes challenge course. Our trained Outward Bound staff will monitor small groups who have the opportunity to climb and belay for a portion of the day with us!
Nobody thrives when they’re being forced or coerced to do something they don’t want to do.
Even when these things are “good” for you, an approach that gives students the power to choose will always be more successful than feeling pressure to participate because of a threatening external factor such as peers, teachers, or instructors.
You’ll see Outward Bound staff utilizing an educational practice we call “Challenge By Choice”. During physically, emotionally, or socially challenging activities, staff will offer various levels of engagement that students can take in that activity.
We won’t ask students to completely opt out of the activity, instead, we offer alternatives for participation. We believe this boosts self-efficacy, motivation, builds perseverance wholistically, and is a trauma-informed approach.
WHERE IS THE PROGRAM HELD?
Our program is designed to reduce hierarchy and create an equal playing field for all participants. Our programs are held at neutral spaces in the city such as parks and community centers.
We offer three main locations for our programs so be sure to know where you’re headed!
Most of our Baltimore and Maryland programs are held at our main campus in Baltimore's Leakin Park.
Our DC-based programs may occur at one of the two parks listed below.
Leakin Park
1900 Eagle Drive.
Baltimore, MD 21207
Palisades Recreation Center
5200 Sherier Pl NW
Washington, DC 20016
Marvin Gaye Recreation Center
15 61st St NE
Washington, DC 20019
PARTICIPANT SURVEYS
Students and officers complete a brief 10 - 15 minute survey before and after the PYC program. The surveys measure students’ opinions and ideas about police officers and give students the opportunity to share their experience participating in the program.
Reported data is never linked to individual students' names, we use this data to inform program improvements and report participant outcomes to the State of Maryland.
See an example of the data in our PYC Impact Report.