Gateway Mountain Center

Gateway Mountain Center

“Nature frees me from the prison of my mind, 

washing away all the sadness and tension, filling me with beauty.”

~ Gateway Mountain Center Youth Participant

WHY SUPPORT GATEWAY MOUNTAIN CENTER DURING GIVE BACK TAHOE? 

For nearly two decades, Gateway Mountain Center has been a leader in the nature as medicine movement, bringing kids out of the clinic and into the outdoors and supporting the emotional, mental, physical, and social well-being of all young people — regardless of where they come from, their life experiences, and their physical abilities.

At Gateway Mountain Center, we work with some of the highest-need youth in the Truckee/Tahoe region and beyond, bringing together the transformative power of human connection and nature immersion to help young people learn, heal, and thrive. Our work would not be possible without the support of the community around us.

Many of the young people we work with suffer from extreme disconnection, usually the result of early trauma exposure or abuse. But we also see that our current culture today devalues connection and as a result, many youths are suffering.  

The need for our frontline safety-net supports for youth has increased dramatically.  We are meeting this need, growing our capacity, and continuing to provide careful, skilled in-person support for more and more youth.  We are the first nature-based program of its kind to be certified by Medi-Cal and awarded behavior health contracts by two counties.

ROOTED IN NATURE. SUPPORTED BY SCIENCE.

By activating both branches of the Central Nervous system through our culturally sensitive and strengths based approach, Gateway youth experience an increased ability to regulate emotions, improve family relationships, and build resiliency.

OUR METHOD: 4ROOTS WELLNESS

1) Authentic Relationship.        2) Nature Connection         3) Embodied Peak Experience.     4) Giving Back

THE CHALLENGE IN NUMBERS

Only 35% of youth in California who report needing mental health support actually receive it.

70% of youth involved in California’s juvenile justice system have unmet behavioral health needs and youth of color are over‑represented.

36th California’s 2022 national ranking in terms of prevalence of mental illness in youth and access to care.

SUCCESS IN OUR APPROACH

91% of clients still engaged after 6 months

53% Latinx and other youth of color (ages 6‑24)

45% average reduction in symptomatic emotional and relational distress

27,000+ youth supported through our combined programming since 2006

“Gateway Mountain Center holds a rare space for young people to explore themselves at the boundaries of who they are—supporting youth with a network of compassionate experts who promote challenge and choice as paths to transformation.”–Ryan Wicks, Nevada National Guard Child and Youth Program Coordinator

ABOUT US

Founded in 2005, we operate in six local schools, at our Truckee based Youth Wellness Center and through additional programming on the spectacular crest of the Sierra Nevada at Donner Summit. Through therapeutic one-on-one mentoring, impactful wellness programming and hands-on environmental education experiences, we nurture self-awareness, resiliency and grit.  We have developed an innovative method, "Four Roots for Growing a Human" and are the first nature-based program of its kind to be certified by Medi-Cal and awarded behavior health contracts by two counties.  

We annually serve over 2,200 youth from all backgrounds, coming from our Truckee-Tahoe region and Northern California. See our website for our main program areas: www.sierraexperience.org

Your support today allows us to establish the solid foundation to meet the growing need in our community and reach even more youth in need.

Thank you!