NBPT Teen Trips Interview

by | Jul 3, 2018 | Things to Do

The Teen Office at Newburyport Youth Services serves as a powerhouse for asset building by providing quality teen programming in the greater Newburyport area. Teen Trip staff work hard to empower the youth in their programs while also forming lasting friendships. Teen Trips are open to young people entering grades 7 through 12. The Rec Center is open three nights a week from 6-10pm for teenagers entering grades 7 to 10. A summer pass to the Rec Center costs $25, which is an amazing deal for 3 nights a week of fun activities, making new friends and pizza!

A couple examples of the Teen Trips we offer:

  • Boda Borg
  • Surfing
  • Indoor Skydiving
  • Arcadia National Park and much more!

Teen trips and the Rec Center empower, challenge and support youth in a variety of ways. Read on to learn more about our awesome staff member, Laura Johnson and her experiences with NBPT Teen Trips:

What’s your favorite teen trip?

“Saco River Tubing and Arcadia are my favorite trips. Lee loves the Six Flags teen trip.”

What’s your favorite part of running these trips?

“A lot of these kids have not had these experiences before so it’s so rewarding to see everyone broadening their horizons, including staff! Personally, I’d never been to New York or Montreal so it was awesome to be able to visit these places for the first time. Being able to share experiences with the teens in our programs makes the experiences even more worthwhile.”

How do you empower youth?

“We try to give teens choices about the activities that we do and our schedules on trips. Especially on the overnights we give them choices about what we’ll eat and the activities we’ll do. Giving them that independence to make choices I think makes them more confident. I also love watching the kids interact with each other. Often kids are thrown into trips with kids they don’t normally interact with but by the end of the trip they’re all really close.”

How do you challenge youth?

“We challenge youth by providing them with new experiences. Some of our trips are physically and mentally challenging, like White Water Rafting so communication is key and we have to work together as a team.  Our trips also build communication skills in youth. If a child is having an issue, they have to communicate with staff and with their peers directly in order to resolve the issue. This builds not only communication skills but also social skills.”

How do you support youth?

“The more kids come to our programs, the closer we get with them. I’ve gotten very close with a number of kids who frequent our programs.”

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About Us The Essex County Asset Builder (ECAB) Network creates regional connections and supports for individuals, families and organizations from Amesbury, Georgetown, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and Newburyport, in using a positive youth development approach to help youth thrive. Positive Youth Development Being a part of the ECAB Network brings local and regional opportunities.  Locally, communities have access to trainings, data, and best practices, and receive guidance on implementation and outreach strategies that build positive youth development possibilities.  Communities also get the benefit of regionalizing efforts, where networking, combining resources, current policies, and a shared vision strengthen the towns and cities as well as the region. History Recently, the communities of Amesbury, Georgetown, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and Newburyport came together to form the Essex County Asset Builder Network.  Funded by a three year grant, the goal of this Network is to create a common language of asset- based youth development (creating protective factors). It has been shown that youth who have more assets are less likely to engage in risky behaviors.  This grant will use the 40 Developmental Assets framework to build these protective factors and reduce risk behaviors by focusing on both the youth and the environment that shapes them. The community partnership will enhance the great work already being done to support youth and families, as well as expand community supports, opportunities, and resources. Additionally, the grant will collect and disseminate regional data, coordinate shared resources and bring educational opportunities for various sectors of the community. Goal To spread the philosophy and practice of the positive youth development approach through implementation of 40 Developmental Asset framework within communities across the region. We will accomplish this goal by: Mission To use a positive youth development approach to build networks within each community and across the region that help decrease risk behaviors in youth and produce a healthier community. Vision A network of communities that welcome, value and empower youth through meaningful opportunities and collaborative efforts to support and strengthen youth assets and increase healthy decision making.