Sam, Cody, Melanie, River
Maintaining healthy relationships is difficult. The people involved don’t always know which behaviors are toxic and which are condonable. Relationship skills aren’t taught in school and are rarely discussed with children, leading to a lack of awareness. This can make it tougher for teens to foster healthy relationships with their peers, as they may not know how to recognize toxic behaviors, either when they are using them or when those behaviors are being used against them. The Healthy Relationships team focused on creating and fostering skills for middle school students to be vulnerable, appreciate self love, practice effective communication, build boundaries, and explore the culture in relationships. Knowing this, the team began by asking, “How Might We encourage healthy relationship styles to avoid toxic situations amongst youth?” With a problem and end-user in mind, the team began ideating for potential solutions. Through brainstorming and empathy, the team discovered that teens struggle making connections but bond over interactive, hands-on activities like games. The team considered multiple solutions, including a three-day workshop and a relationship-centered video game. Ultimately, they landed on creating a Healthy Relationships Connection Course, a short but engaging conversation-styled course centered around connection. This connection course employed bonding games and open, vulnerable conversations to allow for teens to learn about what the foundations of healthy relationships are, acquire tools to use in the real world, and foster connection between the participants. The middle schoolers attending seemed unsure initially, but as the course progressed and friendships were strengthened, the team could see the development as it was happening. The Healthy Relationships team hopes to be able to continue demonstrating this behavior, especially knowing from the positive feedback they received from the attendees that the experience made them feel safe in a group and vulnerable in a good way.
