The Way Out Recovery Rehab in Santa Clarita is spotlighting the Youth Grove at Central Park, which memorializes young people from the community who were killed in traffic-related incidents.

Surrounded by oak trees, the Youth Grove is an open area filled with more than 100 tree stumps representing the lives that were “cut short,” and each stump features a brass plaque with the name and “forever age” of a young person killed. 

“It’s beautiful,” said Alice Renolds, a Santa Clarita mother who lost her two teenage sons in a car crash nearly 20 years ago, as well as a member of the Blue Ribbon Task Force subcommittee that worked to create the Youth Grove.  “(The tree stumps are) symbolizing that their lives were cut short, and the trees all around are continuing to grow.” 

Related: 14th Annual Evening Of Remembrance Honors The Memories Of 114 Young Lives Lost

In the center of the tree stumps is a space for visitors to take the “Just Say No” pledge, which Renolds described as, “Know more about safe driving (so) that no more names will be added.”

A total of 114 young people are currently represented at the Youth Grove, with the youngest being 5 years old, according to Renolds. Seven new names have been added since 2018, representing seven new deaths. 

“There’s a couple of different purposes,” said Bob Sharits, program director at The Way Out Recovery SCV. “To honor those who have lost their lives, to remember them and to put their names and memorialize them, but also to send a message.”

Renolds called the Youth Grove a “teaching tool,” noting that high school groups visit every year as part of the “Every 15 Minutes” program, the Walk and Evening of Remembrance is held annually for the community, and a “community court” class is held monthly for minors who have received a traffic ticket. 

Related: The Way Out Recovery Rehab Santa Clarita Highlights ‘A Light Of Hope’

In addition, the Youth Grove is open to the public year-round, whether for parents who want to visit their child’s tree stump or bring flowers, or residents who want their children to understand the importance of safe driving and awareness around vehicles in general.

“A lot of the kids up there that are represented by that tree stump, it wasn’t their fault — they weren’t the ones driving,” Renolds said. “They were backseat passengers, they were jogging on the street, they were walking their bike across the street.”

Sharits concluded, “It is a really important thing for our community, for anybody to utilize. If you have young kids, before they are of driving age or certainly at driving age, it is a fantastic idea to take your kids up there, and it’s a wonderful place to sit down and have the ongoing talk.”

For more information about the Youth Grove at Central Park, click here. 

Ed. Note: This article is a KHTS Community Spotlight based on a recent radio interview with The Way Out Recovery Rehab in Santa Clarita.

In Santa Clarita, drug issues are a major concern for many. The mission of The Way Out Recovery Rehab in Santa Clarita is to provide high quality, effective alcohol and drug rehab outpatient services to the Santa Clarita Valley. The Santa Clarita rehab’s goal is to assist adolescents, adults and their loved ones in becoming happily and usefully whole, free from drug addiction. Those seeking alcohol and drug treatment in Santa Clarita, a drug rehab in Santa Clarita, a teen drug rehab or simply a “rehab near me” can rest assured that The Way Out Recovery SCV’s philosophy is to teach life-long coping skills and strategies to assist in improving quality of life and living happily and meaningfully without the need of destructive behaviors.

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