Just shy of a dozen local teens spent their summer vacation helping make a difference in the lives of other youngsters while also learning some very valuable life skills.
As part of the Step program, these teenagers worked with one of the valley’s ever-growing nonprofits, Nye County Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), to construct brand new beds from scratch, each destined to end up in the homes of area children who don’t have a bed to call their own. It’s a partnership that Nye County SHP President Carmen Murzyn was delighted to continue this year and one that resulted in more beds being built than it ever has before.
Murzyn invited the Pahrump Valley Times to one of the bed-building days, hosted at the Pahrump Valley High School. Campus Monitor Devin Petersen was on hand to supervise as the 11 teens operated a wide array of power tools, turning plain lumber into sturdy bed frames.
“The confidence that they have grown, just in the tools here, it’s pretty cool to see. They’ve knocked out everything we’ve given them,” Petersen enthused. “They’ve all done very, very well this year.”
“It’s awesome that they get this education, that’s one of the biggest reasons I like working with Sleep in Heavenly Peace on this. The kids get in there and they work on drill presses, sanders, drills, all sorts of tools, it’s really awesome,” Robert Martinez, who helps administer the Step program, remarked. “And they have made over 30 beds this year! They set a goal at the beginning of the program to build the most beds of any Step program and they’ve surpassed that goal. We’re really proud of them.”
Over the course of the seven-week program, the group of teens dedicated between two and three hours several days per week to constructing beds for SHP, but the Step program involved much more than just this. As Amanda Balog with the NyE Communities Coalition detailed, the program participants were able to gain even more knowledge through the various educational elements incorporated into the program through the coalition.
“I run a program that’s called the Teen Outreach program, which is social-emotional learning for those ages 13 to 24. So we’re learning about what to do when you’re angry, how to meditate and calm down, coping mechanisms and self-soothing, all of those things. That’s a 12-lesson course that also requires 20 hours of community service learning, with the classes taking place on Fridays,” Balog explained.
“We also do a sexual health portion called Positive Prevention Plus, which is not just about contraception. For instance, with the teens here, we just got done talking about human trafficking and they were really engaged in that. We cover how to be safe online, we talk about LGBTQ, we talk about healthy and unhealthy relationships, all kinds of stuff, and that is a monthly eight-hour course for anyone ages 13 to 24 that we offer at the coalition,” she continued.
“And with this group here, we also did a four-part class called Catch My Breath, which is about the dangers of vaping and that’s something we can do for anyone from fifth grade all the way through high school. We offer all of these classes for the Step program because we want these kids to be informed and to have the best step into their next chapter,” Balog remarked.
As to the program’s partnership with SHP, Balog was effusive in her enthusiasm for the nonprofit and its overall impact, both on the lives of the teens building the beds and those who ultimately receive them.
“I just love that they are not only building them but they get the see the fruit of their labor during the bed delivery, it’s amazing. These teens have all been great, it’s been a wonderful summer with them,” Balog said, with Petersen adding, “You can imagine the kids that don’t even have pillows, when they get their own bed, with their new mattress and pillows and quilts, they jump around and get all excited. That’s really special.”
For more information on SHP visit SHPBeds.org or call Murzyn at 775-910-8921.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock@pvtimes.com