Denali Family Services serves children and youth who have Serious Emotional Disturbances (SED).  These kids have been through severe traumas such as child abuse, exposure to violence, and other extremely negative experiences.  DFS also supervises therapeutic foster homes in Anchorage and the Valley that care for SED children and youth.

 

Pete Houston will talk Trail Blazers program that provides 3-day camping and hiking trips for SED youth who are aging out of foster care and transitioning to independent adult living. Trail Blazers is an outstanding program that offers unique outdoor experiences in leadership and self-reliance. 

 

Pete has been in the human services field for about 30 years, providing a range of services across Child Welfare, Domestic Violence, Substance Use and Psychotherapy for SED youth.  Pete holds a Master of Social Work degree from UAA and is currently the Director of Quality Assurance at Denali Family Services.  When he can pull himself away from writing policies and creating spreadsheets, Pete enjoys the Alaskan wilderness through hiking, camping, mountain biking, paddling and back-country skiing. Having originally worked to create a mountain biking group out of our Wasilla office, Pete has joined forces with Jen to develop the broader Trailblazers Wilderness Therapy program.

 

Jen has been in the community mental health field for 13 years, specializing in working with Severely Emotionally Disturbed (SED) adolescents and young adults.  She is currently attending the University of Alaska, Anchorage in pursuit of her Master of Social Work degree.  Jen’s initial creation of a hiking group for DFS youth laid the foundation for what has become the Trailblazers Wilderness Therapy program.