Being a teenager is hard. They need our help!
Do you remember those teenage years? We do too! It is easy to feel overwhelmed and alone, but Teen Life exists to equip, encourage and empower teenagers to live life better. Get involved in one of the following ways:
Why Support Groups?
We believe that Support Groups offer teenagers a safe place to ask questions, receive the emotional support they need, and develop healthy peer and mentor relationships.
If these support groups do not exist, teenagers are going to continue to fall between the cracks. Instead of complaining about the current state of our culture, let’s encourage, equip and empower this next generation to make better choices.
# of students helped during 2017-2018 school year
# of trained Teen Life facilitators
We were so thankful to have Teen Life available to meet with our students. With more demands on the school counselor’s time, it is great to have a reliable option for help with our students. We are already thinking about how we want to use TL next year.
Dawson MS CounselorIt has been a great blessing to walk beside these kids on their turf, to equip them with some tools to help break the generational cycles of self-esteem, relationship, and spiritual poverty, and to assist them in casting a vision on where they want to be and how they might get there.
Jacob
YOU'VE GOT TO CHECK THIS OUT!
Repost: What To Do After “13 Reasons Why”
Here’s the truth. 13 Reasons Why is a Netflix original show. It is entertainment. People have ranted and raved about whether it should or should not be out there. Well, all that attention means a second season is coming. This is a testament that any press is good press. It brought a lot of attention but to what end? I hope it promoted meaningful conversation between teens and adults, and I trust that this week we have encouraged more good discussion. That is why we wanted to end our blog series with this particular post. One thing I felt was missing from the whole show was examples of people seeking out help and succeeding. Why is that? Is it that it would have taken away from the entertainment value? I don’t believe so. I think they missed a major opportunity to model for teenagers how to seek out helpful resources.
read more
13 Reasons Why: Recovery
We are continuing our series on the hit Netflix series 13 Reasons Why as we talk about recovery. This is not an easy topic, and season 2 of 13 Reasons Why handles recovery in many different ways. Whether you have seen the show or not, you will want to join our discussion to know what teens are being exposed to when it comes to recovery from the loss of a loved one, an attempted suicide, substance abuse, sexual assault, and more. Recovery is not a straight line. It can be messy and difficult, but we must do our best to equip and empower students to recover well and to reach out for support when they need it. Do you know a teenager who is trying to recover? Listen to this episode for insight into how recovery is talked about in the media and what we can learn from it. Let’s show teenagers a better way to recover!
read more
Repost: The Ugly of “13 Reasons Why”
As a younger Millennial myself, I was both intrigued and disturbed by “13 Reasons Why.” While watching the 13 episodes of season one, I saw why it was so popular. I understood why teenagers were flocking towards its authenticity and courage to face topics that are often shoved aside. I got how this polarizing show was starting conversations and making an often overlooked population feel heard and understood. These are all positive things; however, I saw several things that made me nervous. Teenagers are at a vulnerable age, especially since they are so heavily influenced by the media. While I do agree with several of the things that this series can contribute to our culture, here are some things that I believe were lacking in “13 Reasons Why”…
read more
13 Reasons Why: Intervention
13 Reasons Why is the Netflix series that has made a huge impact, especially in the lives of teenagers and young adults. Because of the media attention this show has gotten, we have decided to tackle the difficult topics addressed in season 2. This is the first episode in a podcast series about 13 Reasons Why that we will be releasing in order to help adults have positive conversations with teens, whether you have seen the series or not! In this episode, the Teen Life staff will briefly introduce 13 Reasons Why and then dive into the topic of intervention and how it is shown in the hit Netflix series. Chris, Karlie, and Beth discuss intervention in the midst of school shootings, self-harm, substance abuse, suicide, and more. You’ll find resources for teens and adults and some ways to start this conversation with the teen in your life. How do you know if someone is hurting? Listen to this episode for signs to look out for and some listening skills so you won’t miss them. Join the discussion as we talk about the importance of intervention in the lives of teenagers.
read more
Repost: The Good of “13 Reasons Why”
*This is the first in a series of three blog posts that we released Summer 2017 regarding season one of the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” Subscribe to the Teen Life Podcast to catch our upcoming podcast series breaking down season two of the series. This is a great place to start though!
13 Reasons Why is a wildly popular series on Netflix. While Netflix does not release viewing numbers, Variety reports that it was the most tweeted show of 2017 thus far, having received more than 11 million tweets within the first 4 weeks of its initial release. The show is based on Jay Asher’s book by the same name and details the events leading up to the suicide of Hannah Baker, with 13 tapes identifying someone who played a role in her decision.
read more
Compassion for the Task at Hand
This past week I had the honor of speaking to about 100 students over the span of four nights at a church camp. I’ve never been asked to keynote a whole camp before, so obviously I was thrilled to have the opportunity. Our topic was about identity, which is a theme this particular group of students has been studying over the last year. I believe identity is one of the most important topics anyone can engage in when it comes to socialization, personality, spirituality, relationships, really anything. This is especially true with teenagers.
read more