Teen Maze is a behavior/consequence reality for teens; they draw something from the bag they are given. They may spin a wheel at one station, but they will never have the same consequence twice. At the funeral home, preachers in coats and ties have them write their own eulogies. They see how much a coffin and vault costs. The pastors walk them to a coffin with a mirror in it so when they look in, they see themselves.
They die, graduate, or have to get a job. They even learn how much it costs to keep a pet.
When January comes around each year and brings Teen Maze with it to Appling County High School, most people don’t realize that it’s been around for fifteen years, but it has. Nonetheless, it’s brand new each year and hopefully impacts the teenagers who experience the event. It arrived via Family Connections, which began in Georgia under Governor Zell Miller. Its purpose is to serve families and children through collaboration of all agencies, schools, daycares, Headstart, health care, law enforcement agencies, recreation, business organizations, and churches.
Our Appling Family Connection started in 1998 with Amy Eunice Rediger as Executive Director. Each Family Connection in Georgia does a survey to see what to target in each county. Appling County selected drugs/alcohol and teen pregnancy.
Rediger said, “We chose to target students’ on-time graduation. Students’ graduating affects both of our selected county issues.”
The Teen Maze concept in America came from Arizona. The Turner County Family Connection flew out there and brought back the concept. Rediger went to visit a couple of these in Georgia and along with her local team of pastors, youth pastors, and agencies, chose which parts they want to use locally. Our maze deals with behaviors and consequences and involves 8th and 10th graders.
Over the years, an incredible number of volunteers has become involved with the project. For example, Teresa Hall with 4-H helps with copies and cuts all the scripts for the bags throughout the maze. Students draw cards to see which station they go to next. Appling Healthcare System provides breakfast for all volunteers, and Appling Sheriff’s office/Sheriff Mark Melton provides lunch for both days.
They have around 70 volunteers each day to bring the maze to life. They discuss teen issues: drinking and driving, riding with people who are drunk, drugs, jail, sex, underage laws, alcohol, vaping, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted illnesses. They have funeral scenes, graduation, and careers. Each student has a chance to sit down and speak with counselors/therapists at the end and fill out anonymous surveys.
Rediger started the local teen maze in the field house. There were two classrooms back there about fifteen years ago. She had observed Dodge County’s maze and Turner’s. She used Rutner County’s supplies that first time, bringing down the trailer loaded with everything imaginable. When Dr. Starr, the high school principal, said yes, she could do the project, she started to create her own supplies. People helped. The nursing students under Sheryl Nipper at Coastal Pines did the posters for the various stations.
They worked on the tables that first year and the bags and scripts needed for each table. Whatever they tear out is glued into their books making up their life paths. Pam Stone and Tamela Folsom helped with all those script bags. Rediger went from agency to agency and asked for help.
Teresa Hall must make a formula based on the number of students coming through. Rediger picked things that teens like and created herown. All them happen from a party they went to; everything begins there and moves forward.
At the end, counselors and therapists talk with each participant, asking if this had been your real life, what would you have done differently. Many different scenarios exist all through the maze - drinking and driving, a jail scene where they put beer goggles on them so they can experience the feeling. They talk about drugs and alcohol. The 24-7 house helps too. In the maze, every volunteer helps in the area of his real job.
When Miller started Family Connection, he envisioned one per county. In August of that year, each started with a $25,000 grant and found someone in the county to work part time. The grant is about $45,000 to 50,000 now, but there’s never any extra money. Here in this county, we created a non-profit called Appling Community Connection, Inc. The grant pays half of Rediger’s salary, and the rest comes from local donations.
Teen maze had no budget originally, but about three years ago, the health department gave it some money. It runs on local donations.
Some volunteers have been with them for 15 years or more. The Department of Family and Children’s Services made their own supplies and manned their own table. Help in teaching the teens to make better decisions also comes from the hospital, from Dr. Knicole Lee, from Dr. Tonya Fordham, and others.
Rediger said, “Everyone working at the maze is there to help those teens avoid bad decisions that can ruin their lives. We all work together and do our best to help them stay away from trouble.”
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