30 Years & Counting: SUWS Wilderness Programs Passes Historic Milestone

One of the nation's premier therapeutic wilderness programs for teens has passed a historic milestone. SUWS Wilderness Programs has now been serving teens in crisis and their families for 30 years.

To mark this accomplishment, SUWS will be hosting several events throughout this anniversary year. The schedule will include gatherings in Philadelphia, Dallas and Los Angeles, as well as a celebration for staff members and program alumni on the SUWS campus in southern Idaho.

Committed to Highest Quality of Care

Much has changed since SUWS opened for business in 1981. But at SUWS (which is based in Shoshone, Idaho), some essential elements – namely, a dedication to the highest quality of care and a commitment to helping young people and their families – have remained constant.

“We’ve had a lot of changes over the years,” said SUWS Executive Director Kathy Rex, “but our underlying philosophies and our dedication to helping children and families get their lives back on track has been a constant through the decades.”

A Dynamic Teen Wilderness Program

Rex said that SUWS's core values have provided a foundation upon which to build a dynamic program that continues to evolve and improve.

“SUWS has definitely evolved,” she said. “For example, in our earlier days, we worked primarily with the child in crisis. Today, we identify the entire family’s struggle, not just the child’s struggle.”

In addition to regular communication between parents and SUWS staff members, the centerpiece of the SUWS family outreach effort is a weeklong Family Camp that parents attend near the halfway point of their child’s enrollment period.

“The Family Camp has been unbelievably successful,” Rex said. “The parents come out to Idaho & spend five days immersed in the program. It’s a life-changing experience for the families.”

A Leader in the Promote Standards of Excellence

In addition to providing services for parents as well as students, SUWS has also been a leader in the effort to promote licensure and regulation throughout the therapeutic wilderness industry. 

“In the mid-1990s, SUWS became the first youth wilderness program in Idaho to be licensed,” Rex said. “We have always emphasized the benefits of establishing standards and regulations for programs throughout the United States.”

Since receiving that initial license, SUWS has earned a number of additional accreditations, including CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) and AdvancED (an academic accreditation organization that serves more than 27,000 schools in 69 countries).

'On a Mission to Help Others'

Though the SUWS family is understandably proud of thier decades of success, Rex said that she and her colleagues remain focused on ensuring that the program continues to evolve. The program, Rex said, will continue to meet the changing needs of students and families while remaining one of the nation’s premier providers of therapeutic wilderness services.

"We’re all on a mission to help others,” she said. “We are always looking to the future and exploring how we can make SUWS an even better place for children and their families.”