MAY 2025 EDITION
Teen Advisory Board Receives Recognition
We are so proud of our Teen Advisory Board! They were presented with a certificate of recognition by Commissioner Abe Laydon on April 28 at the 2025 Douglas County Outstanding Youth Awards ceremony. Commissioner Laydon noted the exceptional community contribution of these teen leaders, their work to improve student relations with our county’s School Resource Officers (SROs) and their feedback to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office on the Safe2Tell tool.
The Aspen Effect also engages these teens to share “youth” insights on our programming and youth outreach to better serve our mission to strengthen youth resilience and help prevent mental health crisis and substance use. The Teen Advisory Board began in the Fall of 2021 after a difficult year of Covid-19 isolation. They meet once a month at the ranch during the school year, eat a free dinner (thank you Chick-Fil-A) and solve the world’s problems together! Former members are now displaying their resilience in college, on church missions and in the workforce! These youth leaders are helping to create a brighter future for the rest of us!
Strengthening Substance Use Prevention
The Aspen Effect is beginning to partner with some solid organizations to help the youth we serve protect themselves from harmful substances. One of these stellar partners is Hard Beauty, a unique recovery organization that empowers individuals to thrive beyond their circumstances through a trauma-informed, healing-centered approach. Founder and CEO Racquel Garcia and her team drove out to Happy Dog Ranch in Sedalia, CO to join us and experience what resilience looks like in a ranch environment. We are both excited about where this collaboration will lead us in the future!
Youth Service Crew
A shout-out to the 15-25 awesome high school students that come to the ranch once a month during the school year to participate in The Aspen Effect’s Youth Service Crew program! They earn four community service hours toward graduation, eat free lunch (thank you Firehouse Subs) and learn about The Aspen Effect’s free mental health and substance use prevention services to youth in our community. Over the past few months, they have been grooming the Jarre Creek horse trail that runs the length of Happy Dog Ranch. They always start out quiet in the morning, then, like the growing roots of an aspen grove, they connect with each other during the day and leave as friends!
Large groups of high schoolers from all over Douglas County come early on a Saturday morning, put away their phones, work, socialize and accomplish something of worth they can feel good about. This is the Youth Service Crew.
