Nearly every summer for the last 26 years, at a camp site tucked away deep in the Laramie River Valley, 40 at-risk teens spend a week in Rawah wilderness area in Larimer County, Colo.

“Twenty-six years ago, there was a police officer by the name of Dave Mickelson who had an interest in getting together a program that would connect the kids in Fort Collins and Larimer County with police officers,” said Fort Collins Police Officer  Bob Younger, president of Laramie River Valley Rendezvous. “He saw a lot of kids from single parent homes or at-risk youth, and his concern was that coming out to the wilderness would sort of break down the barriers between police officers and the youth and also help build up their self-esteem and confidence.”

The program has since evolved to include members from other local first response agencies, the National Guard and miscellaneous volunteers.

Who is a camper?

Each year, the LRVR board identifies and connects teens with LRVR staff and other volunteers.

The campers typically come from single-parent or at-risk homes, which Younger defines as homes where the kids are in “foster care, blended care or have had some bumps in the road or minor issues with decision making, hanging out with the wrong type of kids or are considering gang membership.”

To get into the LRVR, potential campers need to fill out an application and write an essay. They also need to be sponsored by someone who wants to help them get past a rough spell and get through those tough decision-making processes.

“What we get is usually 20 girls and 20 guys, and we come together and help them find an appreciation for nature and for healthy life choices,” said Air Force Maj. Holger M. Peters, operations officer for the Colorado National Guard’s Joint Counterdrug Task Force.

“I was a camper for two or three years in my junior high years,” said Quinn Lods, LRVR staff member and mountain bike coordinator. “I got hooked up with it through my school resource officer. She pointed me in the direction because I was having some trouble in school and she thought it would help.”

Lods explained how his first day being a camper was a total culture shock, but that it has helped him develop into the person he is today. “When I first got off the bus for the first time, I looked around and thought, ‘Where am I and what did I get myself into?’ I was a little cautious and didn’t know anybody, but after I was a camper I became a police explorer with Fort Collins P.D., and that’s how I was able to stay in the camp and keep helping the kids after my time as a camper.”

To date, the LRVR has served more than 1,200 at-risk youth.

Camping

The LRVR starts on a Monday and ends on the following Saturday. During the four days between, the campers are split into groups of 10 to participate in one of several activities, including mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding and rafting.

The event is about mentorship, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Martich, CONG JCDTF and Drug Demand Reduction noncommissioned officer in charge. “When they put up the tents they do it as a team. Some of these kids are very shy so it’s neat to see them go from Monday to Saturday and they come out of those shells and they open up and make friends. They bond with law enforcement and firefighters and us in the National Guard. The big piece we do is ... we give them something they have never had before and we hope that gives them the tools to be able to get through.”

“A lot of kids, more often than not, put on a front for their friends. … They may hate smoking that cigarette or they may hate the way that they look, but to fit in where they may live or the school they go to, they do that,” said Lods. “You talk to a lot of kids and when they get up here and realize that their other friends aren’t here, they can act how they want to. Up here they realize they can do whatever they want with their lives and take that back to Fort Collins.”

The uniqueness of this program is the involvement of law enforcement and military – and it’s not a boot camp.

“We don’t make the kids run and do pushups. We’re empowering them to discipline themselves,” said Younger. “With teenagers, as soon as the discipline starts, as soon as the voice tonality changes, they turn off. It’s our goal to get them to make the decision themselves and not for us to make it for them.”

As a result, one stipulation on continued participation is that if a camper gets into trouble between one summer and the next, he or she isn’t allowed to participate again.

Biking

Lods explained how his event, mountain biking, is made possible. “I worked at bike a shop so that’s now what I do. I take care of the bikes and run the event. I make sure everything is running safely.”

Previously, bikes used for the camp came from the Fort Collins Police Department evidence locker and were unreliable. LRVR recently purchased a large quantity of new equipment at a substantial discount.

“These (new) bikes, I built straight out the box. I know what they can do and I know how to work on them,” said Lods.

This year’s biking event started at camp and was 14 miles, round trip.

“We go up along a little canal and take our time. It’s nothing too extreme. All of the kids are able to do it,” said Lods. “We let the kids do it to their abilities. We are not going to force them to ride as fast as the fastest kid.”

Funding the camp

In early 2000, LRVR was on the chopping block. Funded almost entirely by the Fort Collins Police Department, the agency had to cut its budget. Younger saw success in the program and refused to let it die. As a result, funding now comes from grants and private organizations or individuals, which allows the campers to participate free of charge.

“One week alone with normal expenses costs around $16 to $18,000, and if we have a special project, like building the new mobile kitchen we have today, that’s additional funds we need. … Also we would not be able to run this organization without the involvement of the National Guard.”

Guardsmen as mentors

The CONG has been participating in the program for more than 10 years. Martich is its longest-running mentor.

“A lot of those kids have never been to the mountains,” said Martich. “The kids get up here and see there is more to life than the city; there’s so much more they can experience. All the things they do up here is team-building type stuff to build up their self-esteem.”

“Our participation in this year after year is to come and share with the kids and provide positive mentorship – give them alternatives to possible life choices that they might make,” said Peters. “We give them healthy life choices, drug free life choices.”

Among the CONG assets provided to the camp – and a favorite among the campers – is an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter that the Colorado Army National Guard uses for search and rescue operations. For the camp, the Guard also provides tents, a mobile climbing wall, a water buffalo, and numerous volunteers to guide the campers along hiking trails, bike trails – and their life trails.

“What we show them is fitness is the right way to go,” said Peters, whose team helps lead the mountain biking and hiking events. “In both of those, the military portion that comes through is, ‘Don’t quit. Your mind might tell you no or your body might tell you no, but your body can go farther.’”

“The outreach here is to help kids understand that there are healthy life choices – drug-free life choices – and that a healthy mind and healthy body will get you a lot farther in life than the other alternatives,” said Peters.

The CONG has also assisted the Wyoming National Guard with its Camp P.O.S.T.C.A.R.D. (Peace Officers Striving to Create and Reinforce Dreams), a Wyoming-based event similar to LRVR.

Spc. Jessica Stambaugh, WYNG DDR team member, returned the favor. “Growing up, the people who were going in and out of my life – not just my parents – really influenced me,” the 21-year-old said.  “I can relate to the girls well … see where they’re coming from and ask what their goals are. These kids really need to get away from civilization and come up here get in touch with nature in order to come out of their shells.”

Program expansion

The LRVR has become what most of the staff members consider a hidden secret. The consensus however, is that while expanding the program could definitely be beneficial, the quality of the result should always outweigh the quantity.

“I would like to be able to be involved in transitioning this program into another state,” said Younger. “I think this program can grow from here by expanding into maybe two weeks in the summer instead of one, impacting 80 kids instead of 40. It has been benefiting our community for 26 years and I’d like to see it benefit others, as well.”

Expanding the program has been discussed among LRVR committee members and could become reality as soon as next year.

“One of our biggest goals is to have a long-lasting relationship with these kids,” said Younger, who went on to describe an expanded mentoring process. “We’ve teamed up with Colorado State University to provide us a classroom for students who want to be mentors. We would then plug them into this program in which they can go do a fun activity for one week and then maybe the next week talk about job applications or things of that nature. We may also be able to cover drug identification and how to identify if you have friend on drugs and how to intervene. Our goal is to break down barriers. … We want to have the best types of mentors that we can.”

But until the program expands, focus is on the now. 

Impact 

“Studies have shown that this activity has improved our teenage participants’ self-esteem, promoted positive views toward law enforcement and reduced teenage recidivism rates,” said Younger. “It allows the kids to be comfortable interacting with police officers and also reduce the peer pressure they might experience and reduce the accessibility or availability of drugs and alcohol.” 

“There is value to this mission. These kids love it,” said Peters. “Some of the kids, coming back as counselors, say this is the best event of their summer. To get paid to do something like this, for kids, to hopefully leave a positive impression, we take it to heart.” 

“This is a family who looks out for the kids,” said Martich. “A bunch of different groups believe it takes a community to save the kids out there. … They can grow up and be anything they want to be. Some of these kids have become police officers, county sheriffs, firefighters…we’ve had a couple of them join the National Guard. So the impact is there. I hope to support this program even after I retire.”

See more photos from this event on Flickr.