Santa Barbara County Probation teaches Los Prietos Boys Camp wards the various facets of wellness

Young people are infamously immune to advice regarding a lot of things, and wisdom doled out by wellness experts seems to rank high on the list of information ignored (read: junk food, inactivity, etc.). Despite more research showing that good health and wellness are the result of a multi-faceted approach to life beyond diet and exercise, a solid foundation for healthy living may be especially difficult for young people to attain without guidance.

The Santa Barbara County Probation Department offers a commitment option for delinquent males between the ages of 13 and 18 in a 120- or 180-day stay at the Los Prietos Boys Camp off of Highway 154 near Cachuma Lake. Camp leaders aim to mold the youth into productive and responsible members of society with emphasis on discipline and respect, all of which is made possible by empowering the young men with all the tools they need for leading a healthy life both physically and mentally.

“Everything we do is kind of tied in with accomplishment and feeling good about yourself,” said camp director and probation manager Laurie Holbrook. “We like to challenge them so that when they reach those goals, their confidence really builds up.”

click to enlarge Santa Barbara County Probation teaches Los Prietos Boys Camp wards the various facets of wellness
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURIE HOLBROOK
OVERCOMING ANXIETY: Los Prietos Boys Camp wards perform a stage version of Homer's 'Odyssey' each summer thanks to collaboration with a UCSB outreach program, explained camp director Laurie Holbrook.

It literally begins and ends with physical activity, Holbrook explained. The boys do calisthenics every morning and evening, but that’s just a small slice of the exercise pie. The camp allots its wards several hours of physical activity each day, including team sports and other recreational opportunities.

The camp facilitates every aspect of the campers’ lives, including their food and schooling, which adheres to government standards. The foundation of a balanced diet free from junk food and full of a variety of physical activity can have a transformative effect on campers, Holbrook explained, especially after they become acclimated to the mountainous terrain in which the camp sits.

“It’s quite a trek up and down the hill, and they have to do that every day,” Holbrook said. “When the kids get here, they are huffing and puffing, but by the time they leave they are running everywhere and start really feeling good about themselves.”

Campers also help county employees with a variety of needed tasks in the surrounding park and neighboring youth camps, like clearing hiking trails and chopping wood. Other physical programs offer incentives and rewards, like Olympic competitions, which help boost self-esteem as well.

click to enlarge Santa Barbara County Probation teaches Los Prietos Boys Camp wards the various facets of wellness
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURIE HOLBROOK
CREATING PEACE: Besides the various forms of physical exercise Los Prietos Boys Camp attendees engage in, arts programs—such as the annual Peace Chairs event—help with mental and overall well-being.

Los Prietos Boys Camp also includes full-time and part-time staff with Santa Barbara County’s Department of Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Services, which provides the young men with several different outlets and tools for staying mentally well. Campers engage in plenty of fine arts and creativity, including journaling, poetry, and other art forms they are taught at the Los Robles High School on site. They are also taught yoga and mindfulness as techniques for mitigating anxiety and stress, Holbrook explained.

“We try and give them as many coping skills that we can because when they get out, we’re not there, they don’t have a mental health worker at their beck and call,” she said. “They have to learn how to cope with so much in their lives, so we try to teach them as many things as we can and give them a head start once they are out.”

With programs like video production or visual arts available in the high school, the Los Prietos Boys Camp offers more than just the structure of physical regimens; it also offers forms of creative and even spiritual expression. Willing wards get to take part in a UCSB performing arts summer class, Holbrook explained, which helps kids overcome public speaking and performance fears while providing a lasting confidence boost.

Other programs, like the Peace Chair project, are aimed at spreading positive ripples throughout the community with the power of art. Young visual artists attending Los Prietos Boys Camp paint old wooden chairs with symbols of peace to be passed out to local schools for use in classrooms. Creative projects like this also give campers a feeling of connection and identity within their community, rather than feeling like an outlier, Holbrook explained.

Santa Barbara County Probation teaches Los Prietos Boys Camp wards the various facets of wellness
LEARN MORE: Find more information about the Los Prietos Boys Camp by calling 692-1750 or visiting cosb.countyofsb.org/probation.

“The staff is very dedicated, and we all believe that these kids deserve a chance, and we’re here to do everything we can to see that they get that opportunity,” she said. “To have this resource in the county, we are very fortunate. It’s just a wonderful place.”

 

Arts Editor Joe Payne approves an art-based diet. Contact him at [email protected].

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