Regional Valley Youth Teams Experience a Historic Train Excursion

​    On June 11th, 2021, 25 youth from three counties in the region met in Antonito for a capacity building day trip train ride on the historic Cumbres & Toltec railroad. Valley youth experienced a slice of Victorian old west history as they rode the restored train #489 from Antonito to Osier. They crossed into New Mexico 11 times during the round trip to Osier Pass. At the top of the pass they enjoyed a buffet lunch. The students, all from Saguache, Antonito and San Luis, will be attending three capacity building retreats over this summer, with one taking place in each region. Each retreat will highlight the culture and environment of the Valley. 

    The intent of these activities are to highlight positive things in the Valley. The hope is to give youth the opportunity to get together and have fun while discussing the issues that all three communities share through team building activities. Our communities have traditionally had a history of conflict and the intent of these gatherings is to bring youth together the create positive change. The regional youth group had a private train car and capacity building activities took place throughout the trip. 

     This experience is just the start of what is hoped will become a long-term, youth led, regional collaboration. Six HEART Resident Team members, the HEARTbeats, Logan Gallegos, Cyrus VanEgmond, Kaelyn Taylor and James and Keladrae Brooks all attended, representing Saguache. All will be high school students in the upcoming 2021/22 school year. On July 30th, the regional youth will come to Saguache to spend time at the Saguache County Museum with a special tour highlighting the histories of our region. 

---

    In August, the San Luis regional youth team will host a day in San Luis. It is hoped that by the end of the summer our regional youth teams will have built up their leadership, problem solving and communication skills to prepare them to face the root causes of the problems that they see in their communities. One of the biggest issues that the youth have identified so far is, unsurprisingly, the negative effects of drug abuse in all three communities. These field trips are being funded by a generous grant supporting youth from the Community Foundation of the San Luis Valley.