Teen boys change through VisionQuest
VisionQuest in the news:
Teen-age girls
riot at VisionQuest
Several hurt in
fight at VisionQuest
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
 Young
men who are in trouble with the law, or face a difficult home
situation, may, at the discretion of the courts, have an alternative
to juvenile hall or foster care.
Boys between ages 12 and 18 enter a program
called VisionQuest and take care of a wagon train from Elfredia to
the Grand Canyon. They sleep in a teepee with other members of their
"clan" for three months, and in those three months they change.
"When I came here I became a new person," said
Mike, a 17-year-old VisionQuest participant. "I'm more happy. I
think about what I do. This is a lot better than going to (juvenile
detention). I'm going to get my GED out here and then maybe try to
become a preschool teacher later."
Mike said he is not into drugs anymore and
looks forward to returning to his family.
Brian, age 15, said he was "very angry" and
prone to fight.
"At VisionQuest, everything just falls into
place," he said.
He enjoys working with the horses, especially
one named Black because he's feisty.
The VisionQuest wagon train that passed
through Payson last week was 16-year-old Deyoe's fourth and final
train before he returns to a group home until he is 18.
"A lot of kids complain about only taking
showers once a week, but I don't mind," he said. "I can ride pretty
decent now and I'm not afraid to go after a runaway horse."
Deyoe plans to begin studies in psychology at
Pima Community College this summer.
The boys in the secular program that is
loosely modeled after Native American's VisionQuest for manhood hail
from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Arizona.
Each teepee has 10 to 12 boys in it.
"Eighty-five percent of kids who complete our
program do not re-commit a crime," said Amber Dennison-Jones, a
teepee parent and medical technician.
"It is a lot better than the prison system
right now, where 75 percent of the kids who commit a crime go back
to prison."
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