Recreation and Activities
Recreation and Activities at Endeavor Place Residential Treatment in Verndale, Minnesota
Endeavor Place sits on five acres of natural surroundings. The setting is spacious and safe, and it promotes the atmosphere of serenity that recovery depends on.
Activity Seven Days a Week
Challenge Course
On-Site Weight Room
Community Outings
Each resident participates in a structured recreation activity seven days a week. Mixing leisure and recreational activities with the clinical elements of treatment is an essential ingredient for positive development.
Why Structured Recreation Is Part of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment
Through the recreational program, residents develop new talents, improve social and communication skills, build self-esteem, and raise the level of cooperation and trust between them.
There is a plainer version of this too. Many young men arriving here have not enjoyed an afternoon sober in years and quietly believe they cannot. Finding out that they can is not a soft extra. It is one of the things that makes long-term abstinence survivable.
Recreation also teaches residents to use their community as a resource, which matters on the day they go home.
On-Site Leisure Activities and Off-Grounds Therapeutic Recreation Available to Residents
| Setting | Activities |
|---|---|
| On the property | Sports and games, bocce ball, ladder golf, the challenge course and the weight room. |
| Off grounds | Hiking, skiing and snowboarding, and therapeutic recreation outings. |
| In the community | Bowling, swimming, local high school sports games and community service. |
Community based activities connect residents with healthy alternatives to their prior activities. A young man who has been to a high school game with the house has somewhere ordinary to go on a Friday night once he is home.
The Challenge Course Program and Its Three Main Components
Residents at Endeavor Place, LLC participate in a Challenge Course Program with three main components: initiative games, low elements and high elements. Together they create a mentally, socially and physically stimulating environment.
Initiatives
Activities that give a group of residents the framework to become a stronger team. Residents work together to accomplish goals, and in reaching them the group learns to cooperate, problem solve, think creatively, communicate effectively and manage conflict. As the group progresses, care, concern and trust for each person overpower the need for competition and rivalry.
Low Ropes
Activities that challenge physical agility, group cooperation and problem solving skills, both individually and as a group.
High Ropes
Activities that focus on confronting one’s fears, emotional self-management, self-confidence and risk-taking.
Benefits Residents Gain From the Challenge Course
- Problem solving, decision making and creativity
- Patience, perseverance and flexibility
- Cooperation, communication and trust
- Integrity and courage
- Self-awareness, goal setting and self-confidence
- Leadership
The high elements do something the group work cannot. A young man who is frightened, says so, and goes up anyway has produced evidence about himself that no counselor could have talked him into believing.
The On-Site Weight Room Built by Residents in 2007
The Endeavor Place weight room is located on the property. It is a 600 square foot facility, remodeled and completed by residents in 2007 with the assistance of a professional carpenter.
Worth pausing on that. The room residents train in was built by residents. Several of the young men who did the work will have moved on within months of finishing it, and every group since has used what they left behind.
Equipment Available in the Weight Room
| Equipment | Used For |
|---|---|
| Two weight benches | Upper body fitness |
| Free weights and dumbbells | Strength training |
| Treadmill and stationary bike | Cardiovascular work |
| Seated rowing machine | Full body conditioning |
| Ping pong table | Leisure and downtime |
| Punching bag | The house stress reliever |
The benefits of strength training are injury prevention, improved balance, flexibility, mobility and stability, and better performance in sports. After a good workout residents feel satisfied and better about themselves, which leads to improved self-esteem and increased self-confidence.
Recreation supports the clinical program rather than substituting for any part of it. Group therapy, individual therapy and each resident’s Individual Treatment Plan remain the core of treatment.
Contact Endeavor Place, LLC With Questions About Recreation and Activities
Endeavor Place, LLC
Address
Endeavor Place, LLC
Residential Treatment Program
PO Box 66
21539 120th Street
Verndale, MN 56481
About the information on this page
This page describes the recreation program at Endeavor Place, LLC. It is general information only, not medical advice or a clinical recommendation. Participation in any activity is subject to staff assessment of a resident’s suitability and safety.
Facilities, equipment and available activities can change over time. All information is subject to changes.