Village Shepherd

I remember a few years ago, the furore caused by Social Services when they adopted a scheme of sending persistent young offenders on expensive holidays, often abroad. At least, the public saw these outings as holidays. Social Services described them as ways of helping the young people get to know themselves better, because in unfamiliar surroundings and often under considerable physical, mental and emotional demands (such as trekking through the desert), they were forced back onto their own resources in a new kind of way.