Written By: Brady Hix, Dalton Daily Citizen News
Growing up, Christian Heritage School sophomore Cally Callaway said she had “always heard actions have consequences.”
“I feel like we’re always told that there will be serious repercussions for mistakes we could make in life, but it’s almost like you hear it so much that you stop believing it,” she said. “That’s why I think it’s a good reminder to actually see it happen here at the Teen Maze.”
During the fourth week of September, 10th grade students from all area high schools participated in the annual Teen Maze event at the North Georgia Fairgrounds, where students are confronted with realistic scenarios that could affect their life, including the dangers of distracted driving, driving under the influence, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, dating violence, contracting sexually transmitted diseases or infections, or the juvenile justice system.
For the second year in a row, Malisa Pedro with the Dalton/Whitfield County Family Connection helped organize the event with the United Way of Northwest Georgia and local social workers and representatives within area high schools.
Thinking about consequences
Since the Teen Maze’s inception in 2013, the event has welcomed sophomores from Dalton High School, The Dalton Academy, Northwest Whitfield High School, Southeast Whitfield High School, Coahulla Creek High School, Christian Heritage School, North Murray High School, Murray County High School, and local alternative schools including Whitfield County Schools’ Crossroads Academy.
“Local 10th graders are who we target,” Pedro said. “And that’s intentional because that’s about the age they’re going to start driving.” Pedro said the major focus on young drivers at the event includes guest speakers and a realistic crash scene involving a teenage actor who was “driving under the influence.” “We want them to really think about those consequences,” she said.
After hearing from guest speakers throughout the week, students watched as volunteer actors portrayed people caught up in a car accident caused by an impaired driver. The scenario included full emergency response personnel arriving at the scene, including members of local law enforcement agencies and fire departments, Hamilton Emergency Medical Services, Whitfield County Coroner Clyde McDaniel and a Life Force helicopter from Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga.
Guest speakers for the week included individuals from Whitfield County’s Conasauga Accountability Courts, including Mental Health Court participant Austin Blackmon, who is in phase four of the program, Domestic Violence Court participant Bryant Welch, who is in phase two, and Drug Court graduate and alumni Robin Rhodes. Domestic Violence Court Coordinator Amanda Barnett and Mental Health Court Coordinator Clinton Stroble also spoke to students at the beginning of the week.
Students also heard from longtime guest speakers Chris Sandy and Eric Krug, who spoke on the consequences of driving under the influence.
Rhodes encouraged students to make the right choices when it comes to abstinence from drugs, while also telling those who may already be partaking that there’s “hope outside of addiction.” “If you’re in addiction today, it’s okay because there’s hope,” she said. “There’s somebody that can talk to you and be there for you. And I really wish that we had more great programs like this for you guys, because at this age is when I fell loose and I lost it all. If you’re going through something, say something. Because it’s not okay.”
Sticking with students
Southeast Whitfield High School senior Elizabeth Morrison, who was the crash scene’s lead actor this year, said “it feels good” to know that she is potentially helping younger students in making the right decisions. “I don’t want these people to go into life thinking consequences are easy to push aside, because they are not,” Morrison said. “The consequence of (the crash scene) meant I ended up having to go to jail while getting in trouble with my (parents)…So, I think it felt really good showing them that it’s not, ‘Oh, I’m just gonna be fine. I’m not gonna be in trouble.’ They’re seeing the real consequences of their actions, and I hope it sticks with them.” Morrison said she was happy to volunteer for the maze this year after previously attending the event as a student in 2023. “Early on in high school, I began to smoke a lot of weed and I didn’t really think there was anything that was going to come from that,” she said. “Then, I came to Teen Maze…and it really put things into perspective, especially when I got a task where I played a mom, and I had a friend who was a parent as well. (In the scenario,) he neglected his child and it put things into perspective for me and where I was at in my life. I don’t want to be a mom that neglects her kid because of drugs. And I don’t want to grow up and be with somebody that does that. I don’t want anybody to have to experience that.”
While many scenarios feature the consequences of negative decisions students can make, Pedro said there are also several positive pathways, including graduation and careers that may follow. “Some kids pull a script and go straight to graduation and then beyond graduation, where we have volunteers from Shaw Industries, Georgia Northwestern Technical College, Junior Achievement and the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce,” Pedro said. “From there, they get to learn about career opportunities. And some kids start from what would be considered a negative and then go to a positive, such as from teen pregnancy to graduation. They might just make one bad choice and then go on.”
Changing lives
Christian Heritage sophomores Bradley Dawson and Sean Koop said the car crash scenario particularly stuck with them. “It was interesting to see the equipment (such as the Jaws of Life) that the EMTs and firefighters used to help people involved in a car crash,” Dawson said. “That part of the maze showed me you really need to pay attention while driving and that you shouldn’t be drinking.”
Koop, who learned about dating violence and the goals of a healthy relationship with Family Frameworks representatives throughout the maze, said the crash scene “looked like a stressful situation to be in.” “I think this is important to see because one mistake could lead to the end of your life or even the end of others’ lives,” he said. “And I feel like (distracted driving) is probably one of the biggest factors today, because phones are so accessible. Everyone has one in their pocket. So, it’s probably a major detail in many crashes.”
Lt. Tammy Silvers with the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, who has been a part of the maze for several years, also leads the sheriff’s office’s School Resource Officer and Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) units. “The Teen Maze is very important because if we can show students what can happen and the outcome of their actions, then maybe we can change their lives,” Silvers said. “Maybe they will make better choices so that hopefully they don’t have to face these situations. Because one decision they can make changes their entire life. So, they have to stop and think about those decisions before they make them, because once they make that decision, it’s too late to go back.”
Callaway said the crash scene was “very emotional and realistic to see.” “I think I’ll definitely be more careful when driving now,” she said.
Click on the link to see a recap of the event: https://youtu.be/XmKev-SC2Ws?si=nY5xSRXjfRIX-JIH