CHS Life Jackets train 19 new members
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Chester High School Life Jackets organization hosted a training retreat December 4-5 at the Little Grassy United Methodist Camp in Makanda, Illinois. A total of 19 new members, seven veteran members and seven adults attended the retreat for the two-day event.
Life Jackets is a peer-support, crisis- prevention group at CHS designed to be a watchful eye for fellow students who might be experiencing difficulty in their lives. Life Jackets are there to listen to peers and refer them to adults who can assist them in their times of trouble if necessary.
The two-day training brought members together to learn how to listen effectively, communicate and break through communication barriers so they can learn what is really causing stress and difficulty in the lives of peers.
Team-building was a cornerstone of the early portion of the weekend. The trust and support established allowed group members to relate comfortably. The skills of Life Jackets were reviewed to teach members that a wide variety of techniques were necessary to effectively assist others in times of trouble.
Throughout the weekend the members were divided into small, family learning groups in which they were able to practice their listening and helping skills. Each new skill taught during the group lectures was actually put into practice during the small group sessions.
Family dynamics were thoroughly discussed because quite often the source of teen stress is related to issues in the family. One of the most serious and dangerous issues for teens is the possibility of suicide. Quite a bit of time was spent learning about the dynamics related to suicide and how to deal with a suicidal peer.
Safe driving was a topic of discussion as was learning how to relay positive messages to others. The power of being positive and "being there" for fellow peers was stressed throughout the retreat.
Trainees were educated with regard to "making good choices" in general and specifically in relation to avoiding drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Such involvement often leads students to serious issues in their lives that result in stress, legal difficulty, parental problems and the like.
How to deal with grief is another topic of discussion taught the trainees. Peers have difficulty dealing with the loss of others tends to be another issue that sends them spiraling into hard times. Life Jackets learned what to look for and how to reach out to someone dealing with grief.
Throughout the weekend groups constantly reinforced each other and strived to bond, trust each other and establish cohesive relationships that are conducive to being helpful for both each other and peers back at school.
New trainees further were taught to utilize the principles of P.A.I.N. P.A.I.N. is an acronym for prevention, awareness, intervention and nurturing. By implementing these principles students can help peers avoid letting problems get to the point at which they become suicidal or experience serious life-threatening issues.
Adult leaders from Chester High School that helped facilitate the learning portion of the retreat included Dr. Jim Beers, Life Jackets Sponsor as well as Brenda Coop and Dwight Lochhead, CHS Life Jacket Advisors.
Three Life Jacket graduates also attended to assist with the training and supervision including Jamey Watkins, Carlo Marconi and Sam Higgerson. All three are now college students who continue to have a keen interest in Life Jackets.
There were also seven current, veteran Life Jackets who attended the retreat to serve as Group Leaders and Training Assistants including Sydney Haberberger, Dani Homan, Laura Liefer, Taylor Marks, Allison Petrowske, Rachel Sheely and Cedric Williams.
New members who took part in the 2010-2011 training retreat included Ben Asselmeier, Ally Briggs, Maddie Conner, Carrie Emery, Alexandria Fedderke, Shilouh Frazer, Holly Hartman, Jared Johnson, Marah Laramore, Maribeth Lawrence, Sarah Lochhead, Megan Marcinkowska, Joseph Marks, Justin Marks, Emilee Mattingly, Lacey Reynolds, Brandi Salger, Tally Taylor and Sarah Twitty.
Master Trainers who conducted the weekend training retreat included Matt Baltzell of Sanford Brown College in St. Louis, Missouri and Jennifer Stanley from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.
The United Methodist Men of the First United Methodist Church in Chester donated $500.00 to help defray the cost for the students who attended the retreat. Southwestern Illinois Bus Company of Chester also gave the Life Jackets a reduced rate for transportation to and from Makanda for the retreat.