Local youth learn about healthy relationships, illicit drugs, early teen pregnancy at annual Teen Maze event

YCCHS, Verde Valley Sanctuary team up to host annual event

COTTONWOOD, Ariz. — In a joint effort with Yavapai County Community Health Services (YCCHS), Verde Valley Sanctuary (VVS) hosted its annual Teen Maze event in February, raising awareness among long teens on the dangers of illicit drugs, early teen pregnancy, vaping, coping skills, healthy relationship choices, and more.

The three-day event hosted nearly 300 youth from around the Verde Valley as Teen Maze represents an important awareness role during Teen Dating Violence Awareness month, which is February.

“Everyone worked together to make this a great event for the students,” Verde Valley Sanctuary Community Based Services Director Vivien Mann said. “Student evaluations were very positive … and said they learned something from the booths [they attended].”

MATFORCE hosted a “Clearing the Haze” booth, while the Cottonwood Police Department hosted a “DUI Dangers” booth. VVS’ booth hosted teens to share what red flag versus green flags are all about in healthy relationships, and YCCHS hosted several booths including “Vaping is So Cringe,” “Know Before You Throw, an STI Toss Up,” “Building Resiliency,” and “The Price is Right-Teen Pregnancy Edition.”

“It’s been rewarding to watch this event grow and evolve over the years,” YCCHS Health Education Coordinator Laurel Abdelnour said, who gave kudos to a young Mingus Union High School student who stepped in to “shine.”

“This year, our jiu-jitsu instructor injured his knee and thankfully he was alright. This created an opportunity for our Teen Maze superstar, Xander Teel, to step in,” Abdelnour said.

The junior at Mingus is a coach for the wrestling program and stepped up to run the booth.

“Xander absolutely shined, and the youth loved it. Students always respond well to being educated by people closer to their age,” Abdelnour said.

VVS Training and Education Manager Amanda Majewski said the students typically rotate every 8 minutes or so, which doesn’t leave a lot of time to interact with each young person who attends Teen Maze. But, she could see many students’ faces have an “ah-ha moment” when explaining “love bombing,” a manipulative relationship tactic and major red flag when the partner overwhelms you with excessive affection, gifts, and premature declarations of love to gain control and create dependency.

“That was extremely rewarding, just to see their expressions and hear they say that they are being loved bombed, or have been love bombed in the past,” Majewski said. “One girl even took me aside because she was a bit concerned, so hopefully we were able to help her!”

Majewski, who runs the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Program for VVS, said that seven schools across the Verde Valley attended during the three-day event, with 291 students total participating.

Created in 1999 under the leadership of North Star Youth Partnership, a program of Catholic Charities Community Services, the community-driven event focused on eighth grade students and by design, brought to life the potential effects of various life choices.

This year’s Teen Maze event took place at the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District where teens navigated their way through a maze, read scenario cards, and were educated on a myriad of topics through creative games and hands-on activities to provide an experimental learning environment.

About

Verde Valley Sanctuary’s mission is to provide safety, services, and comfort to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The agency began in 1993 as a grassroots organization with a leased modular home that slept six and has grown into a 32-bed emergency shelter with transitional housing options, a lay legal advocacy center, community-based advocacy support, a 24/7/365 crisis hotline (928-634-2511) and a staff that takes pride in its youth violence prevention education and public outreach and awareness. VVS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and qualifying charitable organization for the Arizona Tax Credit. Federal Tax ID: #86-071314; QCO Code: #20041. Visit VerdeValleySanctuary.org for more information.