Our Summer Roadtrip

Six weeks in an RV! Surprisingly, Cami and I loved every minute of it. With 30 feet to share between the three of us, we had plenty of space….but being able to take our home with us as we traveled was the best part. We covered seven states and drove over 5,000 miles on our trip! As you can imagine, there is more to say than should be put in one email. So I have decided to just list the highlights and if anything specific sparks your interest, you can ask and I will tell you more. :)

Some of the best nuggets we came away with are:

1. We can and should expect more from the parents/guardians of our students.
2. New ways to approach rehabilitating the families alongside the residents.
3. Fresh ideas on how to train and equip staff without requiring an excessive amount of time and energy from our already overworked directors.
4. Innovative approaches to discipline and handling behavioral issues.
5. Some of the latest resource on teaching teens conflict resolution and communication skills.

Things we are most grateful for:

1. Becoming a part of a larger community of people working toward the same mission. There are hundreds of people doing what we do around the nation with the same goal in mind: restoring the lives of broken, ‘at-risk’ youth.
2. The boundless hospitality and comradery we were met with at each program.
3. A chance to take a step back and reassess what we do and why we are here.

Struggles that face us now:

1. Funding – every program we visited was 12-15 times more expensive than our program and many of our participants already struggle to cover the tuition.
2. Staffing – how do you run a high quality program with qualified personnel when you don’t charge your participants enough to pay them? We need people willing to raise support.
3. Where do we go from here? There was much momentum before we left in June, but since returning everyday needs have taken over and the progress has slowed.

A few highlights:

1. Many of the programs we visited were close to National Parks, so we visited: the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and Coral Reef.
2. Camping in the North Cascades with most of the Potter clan.
3. Introducing family and friends in Oregon to our handsome baby boy.
4. Cohen is a champ and took to life on the road without ever looking back!

I think that is enough for now, but I will post again in another week with news on what life has been like since we returned. Thanks again for all your love and support.