Building self confidence by encouraging young people to stretch their comfort zone and deepen their ancestral relationship to the natural world
Project Venture has served more than 9,000 Indigenous youth in 25 states, 8 Canadian provinces, Hungary, and most recently, Jamaica.
“In the beginning, there were instructions. We were to have compassion for one another to live and work together, to depend on each other for support. we were told we were all related and interconnected to each other.”
- Vickie Downey, Tesuque Pueblo
program impact
At Project Venture, we believe in the power of our young people telling their stories and data. Since 2004, our model has been officially recognized by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) as a best practice and is recommended for replication both nationally and internationally.
EVALUATION OF PV PARTICIPANTS SHOWED fewer RISKY BEHAVIORS, INCLUDING SUBSTANCE USE, TEEN PREGNANCY, VIOLENCE, DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY
PV youth DEMONSTRATED POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS INCLUDING greater COMPETENCY, CONNECTION, CHARACTER, CARING, CONFIDENCE, AND CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNITY
PV in pikangikum first nations (Ontario), Canada showed decreases in youth crime and increases in positive relationships between youth, the community, and police
