"What are you going to do for my son?" This was the plea of an anguished newly-single parent about her suicidal 12-year old son. Fortunately, she asked someone who cared.

Michael C. Henkel started working at the Westmoreland County Juvenile Detention Center in 1978 and a year later he accepted a teaching position there. In 1982, he began serving as an Associate Pastor at a local church and held both positions for the next ten years. Mike met the woman mentioned above at the altar one Sunday morning and made a commitment to help. However, the little guy proved to be a handful. When Mike got together with the mother to discuss progress a month later, he told her "You don't have to worry about your son committing suicide. I'm going to kill him."

Six months later the boy was still alive, Mike's hairline was receding and a threesome was formed - another young fellow didn't have a dad, either. When the threesome became a foursome and then a fivesome, help and training was sought from Youth Guidance, Inc. where Mike met Paul Harbison, Outdoor Recreation Specialist for the Coalition for Christian Outreach. In 1984 they went on their first real wilderness trip, twelve days of backpacking and rock climbing in West Virginia. It rained for eleven days straight. The kids learned to appreciate hot food, home and dry clothes. Mike loved it.

By 1985, Mike was volunteering personal time and money to lead wilderness trips for teenage boys from single parent families. He recruited Gene Giernacky from the youth ministry of his church to help. Meanwhile, he began to accept informal referrals from the juvenile probation office in Westmoreland County. Funds were supplied by Youth Guidance and the church until budget cuts occurred in 1986. Soon after, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Larry Mason approached Mike about some young fellows he wanted to send on a wilderness trip. Informed about the lack of funds, the resourceful Mason recommended a contractual agreement with Westmoreland County for the purchase of services. A license had to be obtained from the Department of Public Welfare. Easier said than done, but they had come too far to turn back now.

For four years, 1987-1990, the program operated on a part-time basis. Mike and Gene were joined by Dan Mularski, another veteran youth minister and Michael McKay, an untamed Scotsman ripe for adventure. Trips were conducted during the summer and over the school-year holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. The battle cry was “to the fullest!” and the students developed character in the face of incredible challenges. The program became more structured and an academic component was added. Gradually, some canoes and outdoor gear were accumulated. The staff even got paid occasionally, and they all loved what they were doing.
 

Michael C. Henkel received the Meritorious Service Award from the Juvenile Court Judge’s Commission in 1990 for “outstanding service to Pennsylvania’s youth and community” and in November of that year, the Outside In School of Experiential Education, Inc. was formed as a private 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. A twelve bed residential program was established to expand on the short-term trips, as requested by juvenile court. A 140-acre farm near Ligonier was purchased through the generosity of the foundation community in 1993. Since then, Outside In has been gradually expanding services and improving program quality. An aftercare program exists to facilitate the transition back to home, school and community. A weekend supervision program serves as an alternative to out-of-home placement for boys with less serious problems. A formal system for measuring outcomes was established in 1997 and in 1999, the Pennsylvania Association of Probation, Parole and Correction honored Outside In as “Program of the Year”.

Two new programs were started in the year 2000. The Pathway To Recovery Substance Abuse Program provides residential drug and alcohol treatment with capacity for 24 adolescent boys. An outpatient clinic was added in 2004 to address a broader spectrum of substance abuse needs in the community. Community Based Family Services include in-home family support, strategic family therapy, anger management groups, principled reasoning groups, family therapy weekend workshops and more. As we expand services, additional campus facilities are necessary. In 2001 we added a new educational facility for our on-campus private school. Since then we have added a Counseling Center, a Family Center, and an Expedition Center. The new Recreation Center is 90% finished and already being used for gym class and therapeutic activities. We’re working on the Job Center and hope to have it up and running in 2005.

Much has changed but the wilderness expeditions still present the crux of residential treatment and now include destinations from Quebec to Florida and Wyoming to Maine. The intrinsic stimulation of the outdoors and the life-changing power of experiential processes make our work both fascinating and effective. Our task stands before us with more clarity, and more urgency, than ever. Our mission to youth and families is aptly captured in the proclamation “Understanding what is right, choosing what is best - life to the fullest!”
 

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