Photographer Melissa Tran cheers with her teammates as she was lowered down after completing the rickety bridge challenge at Paths of Courage on Friday September 22, 2017. (Photo: Nicole Kleinsteuber / Quinte News)
Cheers of encouragement filled a remote forest in Prince Edward County as courageous women crushed their fears and conquered goals.
On Friday, Paths of Courage Healing and Retreat Centre opened its challenge course to friends and family giving them an opportunity to take their inner strength to new heights. The challenge course is rigged with climbing, balancing, traversing and diving obstacles meant to build courage and trust. Through the Sexual Assault Centre for Quinte & District, Paths of Courage provides sexual assault survivors (both men and women) with safe opportunities to make the healing journey from the after-effects of sexual violence to self-awareness and wholeness.
Site Coordinator Nancie Brough said they are opening the challenge course to workplaces and groups to offer team building and fun while raising funds to increase programming. “We want to funnel those dollars into our program because we only have funding for 12 weeks a year,” said Brough. “Honestly we could be running 12 months a year. We have a waiting list to 2019. So we want to get people out here to see what we are doing and enjoy it.”
Brough said the programming they offer sexual assault survivors offers life changing results.
Melissa Tran makes her way across the rickety bridge as her team holds her rope. (Photo: Nicole Kleinsteuber / Quinte News)
Program facilitator Andréa Henderson said for participants who have been through trauma especially during childhood, they often lose their sense of trust and playfulness and the challenge course helps regain those elements.
Mental Health Advocate Cynthia Black who works with sexual assault survivors said she has referred women to the centre before so she was excited to get a first hand look. She admitted she is a little unsure when it comes to heights but took on a tower climb and walked across the rickety bridge course while tethered to a harness.
For more on the Paths of Courage program visit https://www.pathsofcourage.com/
