Summer camp is a great time to get out of your comfort zone and grow, and community partnerships in Cleveland are helping make sure every child has that opportunity.
"We’re gonna make our hand go straight, and we’re gonna do this together," said Elizabeth Kresse, outdoor recreation specialist at Youth Outdoors Cleveland Metroparks, while coaching a young person how to shoot a bow and arrow.
Trying new things, in the outdoors, together.
"I was scared because I thought I was going to hit somebody," said Amanda Newsome, 14, about being a bit nervous at first to try archery.
"Things are hard and it’s okay to be afraid," said Kresse. "It's about believing in themselves. Knowing that they can do something that is hard."
Every month, Kresse takes kids from the Pathways program at Laura’s Home on field trips.
"It was easy to do but not that easy to aim it," said Raymond Hummel, 15. "You need to practice."
"There's a safe way to do stuff and that’s what we’re really teaching them is to explore through safe means and see what they’re capable of doing," said Kresse.
Laura’s Home is the largest women and children’s crisis center in the area.
I have shown you how mothers complete a year-long program towards homeownership.
Pathways provides a safe place for their children while that important work continues, especially critical while the kids are out of school for the summer.
Community partnerships, like with the Metroparks, help the kids grow, too.
"They get a lot of opportunities and experiences that they typically wouldn’t get," said Claire Gutheil, youth case worker at Laura's Home.
Thursday at Garfield Park Reservation was about archery, but the kids have also done horseback riding, fishing, kayaking, camp cooking, and more.
"Getting able to watch them grow and develop and believe in themselves is really what’s amazing about my job," said Kresse.
"What did you think of this?" I asked 8-year-old Loyalty Crawford. "Good," she said with a big smile on her face.
"I almost got near the bull's-eye," said Raymond. "I was so close."
He said he had never done this before and hoped it wouldn't be his last.
"It was really fun," he said.
"It went good," said Amanda.
I asked her if she got a bull's-eye.
"Yeah, I got two," she said with a big smile.
Katie Ussin is the Lake County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @KatieUssin, on Facebook KatieUssin, Instagram Katie_Ussin_wews or email her at Katie.Ussin@wews.com.
