By Samuel Knight, Reporter
Journeymen is an island-based nonprofit that gives young men and adolescents the opportunity to develop life-long bonds through outdoors-themed rites of passage with the intention of driving them into young adulthood.
The program encourages boys to discover the authentic aspects that make each of them unique, helping them create a clear vision for their futures. Journeymen was co-founded by Nicky Wilks, who teaches marketing and yearbook classes at VHS, and Alex Craighead, who teaches physical education at Chautauqua.
Wilks works as the program’s executive director, while Craighead works as the program director.
Journeymen seeks to provide young men with the coming-of-age transition that Wilks and Craighead believe they are deprived of in western society. It attempts to accomplish this through exploration of nature and teamwork.
The quest is a 10-day, nature-based exploration for teen boys. These “quests” focus on mentorship through recreational activities that form a bond. Through these activities they attempt to rid the boys of immature patterns that are holding them back from delving into a life of responsibility.
The goal of the quest is for the participant to walk away with a stronger personal identity and a clearer vision for what they want their future to be.
In one case, a high school student was unable to deal with some more difficult events in his past. This led to daily challenges, both in connecting with his peers and being able to plan for his future.
The quest was able to provide the support system and experiences he needed. Following that quest, there were monthly meetings to meet up and talk and continue the mentorship.
“After that wilderness portion … his confidence level was dramatically different,” Wilks said.
His hope is that the positive change brought about by Journeymen will guide the program into the future. Since it is such a young program, the primary way to expand and keep growing is to have the boys progress into mentorship positions.
The program reaches out to youth in Chautauqua, McMurray and VHS.
“I’d like to see our young guys step [up] as leaders in the different schools,” Wilks said.
Journeymen utilizes four pillars of development in their teaching. First, the physical component includes “being of sound body,” which means to be generally healthy.
Mentally, they focus on creating positive thought patterns so they enter any activity with a optimistic mindset.
The third aspect, the social, relates to how boys connect with their peers, family and community as a whole.
Finally, there is the spiritual component. Although Journeymen is not a religiously affiliated organization, they encourage young people to cultivate a strong relationship with themselves and with nature.
Any young nonprofit is going to have its struggles. A common one is the ability to support themselves.
Then there is more conflict if families can’t afford to send their sons on the quest. Wilks and Craighead don’t want boys to be denied the mentorship solely because their family may not be financially able.
In the past when this situation has occurred, they have found ways to make it work — partially through fundraising, and partially through service work from the kid himself.
Looking forward, Wilks hopes to incorporate more people from off-island into the program during their summer sessions. Currently most programs are run out of Vashon, and each focuses on development through self-reflection.
“Something as simple as spending an hour alone with a tree can teach us more than 24 hours of content-heavy curriculum, in regards to learning about ourselves,” Wilks said.
According to Wilks, nature stirs the mind in ways unparalleled to a classroom lecture. Journeymen strives to strengthen the bond between young boys and nature.
“Nature is a mirror, and it’s a way that we can come into relationship with ourselves,” Wilks said.