Program goals:

• Provide children and youth who have completed kindergarten through sixth grade the opportunity to learn or practice life skills.
• Provide some structure through summer months by having meetings two times a week for three hours a meeting (six hours per week)
• Provide a safe and nurturing environment where children learn through therapeutic interactions with trained professional staff

North Star is now entering its 13th year:

It is a:

• partnership between schools and agencies serving youth
• 10-week summer program designed to build Life Skills and provide a routine for children diagnosed with a mental health issue or those at risk
• therapeutic skills-building program utilizing activities done in a safe and nurturing environment
• program with 16 host sites serving six counties; a host site is where meetings are held and are open enrolled
• program where each site is staffed by degreed professionals in human services to provide services for twenty youth
• curriculum designed specifically for North Star by the staff each year, adapting best practice approaches to fit the geographic area
• parents/relatives are encouraged to provide transportation, if funding permits bus routes are established with schools

Typical daily structure for therapeutic skills building:

• Staff planning meeting prior to youth arriving
• Daily written plan and formal check-in
• "Starting the Day" Circle and Orientation
• Community gathering and skills-building wellness snacks activity
• Skill of the day lesson activity
• Applied lesson using art medium
• Structured physical activity using day's lesson
• "Ending the Day" Circle and closure
• Staff debriefing and evaluation after youth leave

This page is sponsored in part by the Northwestern Mental Health Center
and the Our Children Succeed Initiative.