WESTLOCK — There is still time for teens in Grades 9-12 to register for the Youth Wellness Conference being hosted by Westlock and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) in the Pine Valley Resort at Tawatinaw on Friday, Nov. 10.
Emma Langevin, a program co-ordinator at Westlock FCSS, said this is the second year they are hosting a youth wellness conference, which was created as a counterpart to the annual Senior’s Conference that FCSS hosts each year.
“We wanted to offer kind of an equivalent experience for youth,” she said. “Last year was our first conference ever, and this is our second one.”
The 2022 conference, which was hosted at Teen Time Ranch near Dapp, featured presentations from speakers with the Westlock Alliance Church, Addictions and Mental Health and Alberta Health Services.
This year, the theme of the conference is promoting self-care and wellness, as well as giving some different tools and strategies to achieve that goal, said Langevin.
There will be a formal presentation from a counsellor from Indigenous Psychological Services, with the rest of the day being taken up by a guided hike in the Tawatinaw Valley, a catered lunch and free time in the Pine Valley Resort’s full-length gymnastics gym.
The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and participants will be bussed out to the Pine Valley Resort from the Westlock FCSS office in the morning, said Langevin.
There is a $10 registration fee to take part in the event, though that also covers a catered lunch that will be provided at the resort.
Youth wishing to participate in the conference are asked to stop in at the Westlock FCSS office or register online at www.fcsswestlock.com by clicking on the “Youth Programs” link.
Incidentally, participants are asked to bring “athleisure clothing” and indoor shoes to wear in the gym, as well as warm outdoor gear and shoes for the hike.
