Hurricane Canal Trail

Hello! Our intensive therapy day for the month was spent hiking the Hurricane Canal Trail. Wikipedia has a short history on the trail :

Hurricane Canal and Canal Trail

For approximately 80 years, the Hurricane Canal was the lifeblood of the Hurricane Valley. Built over a period of 11 years (1893–1904), mostly by pick and shovel, the canal stands as a testament to pioneer ingenuity and determination. Since 1985, the canal has lain empty. In 2000, special interest groups came together to preserve the canal, receiving grants and volunteering time to construct a trail to stand as a tribute to the sweat and toil early settlers put forth to make the canal a reality. A monument at the trailhead recounts the canal story in brief. Much of the trail, which only covers a small section of the canal, is the actual west bank of the canal, which “canal riders” rode every day when the canal was in operation to ensure there were no leaks or other problems since the bank was somewhat unstable. Two of the trail’s unique aspects are walking in the canal itself – on a steel flume across a wash and through a tunnel immediately thereafter. The trail provides excellent views of the towns of Hurricane and La Verkin throughout. The trail ends before reaching the Virgin River Gorge, approximately five miles from the canal’s former headwaters..

This was a challenging hike at times, but very rewarding. It was a great hike.

The focus of the day was on what can we or the youth build on to make our lives better. We looked at the way these forefathers of Hurricane had built this canal to bring water to the valley. We challenged the youth at different stops along the way to ask them what they can build on to help them in their lives. How can they become more successful? Are they prepared to work as hard as they need to in order to be successful? We had some interesting and enlightening conversations.  

All in all, it was a great hike. It is always such a great time to get the youth out of the facility and out into nature. We enjoy our times spent together and it truly is a great experience. 

Family Day!

Christmas time means family to so many people. We try to make it about family here at Turning Point. This year we invited all the parents to Turning Point to spend some time with their sons. 

The day started off with a parent group. The group's focus was on how the parents feel after their sons have sexually acted out. Rick read a letter from a former parent that detailed some of their frustrations and anger at their son for sexually acting out and changing much of their lives. Many in the group could relate to the feelings that this parent felt. It also gave the youth in the group the opportunity to see how their parents felt and how their sexually acting out may have changed their families' lives. 

After group we held a graduation ceremony in which two young men graduated from high school and one graduated the program. It was a perfect day to hold the celebration in which so many parents were present and hopefully can cheer their son on to do the same.

We were then treated to a fantastic lunch. Each quarter a teacher has a cooking class in which they spend the entire quarter learning how to prepare the menu for the parent day. This year it was Italian themed. It was great! 

Once lunch is over the parents have a chance to visit with their son, have a family therapy session, and a parent teacher conference. 

We are so thankful to have parents who support their sons. 

Zion National Park

This past week we went to Zion National Park for one of our Intensive Therapy Days. We are so lucky to have this National Park and many others in our backyard. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors enjoying the scenery. The focus of the day was on The Optimist Creed by Christian Larson. I have copied it below. This is something that we hope to adopt here in our program as a way for our youth to live their lives not only while they are here with us, but when they leave. We wrote in our journals throughout the hike and discussed The Optimist Creed. We hiked an amazing trail and had a great time.

The Optimist’s Creed by Christian D. Larson

Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.
To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you

C.D. Larson

Below are some pictures that we took throughout the hike. 

The "C" Overlook Trail

The past month in group therapy we have spent discussing the differences between being a victim and a survivor. We have been talking about how each of us have had bad things happen to us, but have we viewed it as a survivor or as a victim? What perspective will bring us the most happiness in our lives? 

We recently went on a hike on the "C" Trail. We hiked down the trail. We stopped from time to time to discuss perspectives, the big picture and gave the youth time to journal their own thoughts. We also spent time afterwards in group discussing what we had learned and some youth gained some great insight into themselves. 

It was also a great day to see the leaves changing and get some great pictures. 

Trauma-Focused Behavioral Therapy Training

Recently the therapists at Turning Point were able to attend the Trauma-Focused Behavioral Therapy Training that is sponsored by the Utah Children's Justice Center Program and Primary Children's Center for Safe and Healthy Families. This was a two day training that was filled with an amazing amount of information that the therapists were able to bring back to Turning Point to help our youth with the trauma they have witnessed and been a part of. This was a great training that taught relaxation skills, affective regulation, and cognitive processing to help with the trauma symptoms. The therapist were also trained how to help our clients complete a trauma narrative, which is great for the healing process from trauma.
This was a great training that will help us in treating our youth a great deal.

Another Youth's Perspective on Treatment

The following is from one of our youth that is preparing to leave the program and go home to live with his family. He has worked hard from day one and has put into treatment everything that he can.


Turning Point helped me with learning how to control my urges. They also helped me with recognizing what I did and how it has affected my victim and her family. What I learned is accountability and how if I take accountability it will show that I care about the other person. What I want to do in the future is be a heavy machine mechanic and have a family of my own. I want to be a person that everyone can trust. I want to have a nice home and car for my family. I really want to thank the staff and my therapist for sticking by me and helping me go through the program. They have helped me with past trauma and how my victim feels. they have helped my self-esteem and have been there when I needed help.

Guest Speaker

Today at Turning Point we had a guest speaker by the name of Kristyn Decker. She wrote the book:
Fifty Years In Polygamy: Big Secrets And Little White Lies
She shared a great deal with the youth about the sexual abuse she was a victim of during her childhood, and how that abuse affected her childhood, marriage, other relationships, and still affects her today.
It was a great experience for our youth to have and to help them gain the empathy that many of them need to learn to ensure they never create another victim.
I would encourage you to read the book.
Kristyn is an amazing person and has overcome so many trials and roadblocks in her life to get to where she is at.