New program will reward teens for healthy fun in Pueblo

A Pueblo County organization that seeks to prevent youth substance use, delinquency and violence by increasing positive factors in teens' lives is launching a digital rewards program to encourage 13- to 18-year-olds to get outdoors and visit places in Pueblo.

Southern Colorado Youth Go, or SoCoYoGo, will be launched by Communities that Care on April 30 at the El Pueblo History Museum.

Billed as "a fun and innovative way to get Pueblo’s young people participating in healthy, prosocial activities," SoCoYoGo encourages youth to "visit exciting locations in Pueblo," log their activities and earn digital "seeds" and "chiles" that can be redeemed for rewards at local businesses.

"Right now, we have about 64 individual locations around Pueblo County that have QR codes where young people can earn points," said Akemi Moore, one of the program's facilitators.

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The program is modeled after the MY Denver Card, said Sarah Martinez, who works with Moore on the program.

"It's adapted to our local community and the whole process has been driven by local young people themselves to make sure that they bought into this process."

Communities that Care developed Southern Colorado Youth Go after Martinez and co-facilitator Akemi Moore conducted focus groups that found many teens were unaware of, unable to afford or lacked access to healthy recreational opportunities in Pueblo.

SoCoYoGo wants to break down those barriers.

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Teens can register for the platform at socoyogo.com. Registration is free but teens must live in Pueblo County, according to the website.

Once registered, teens will be able to use SoCoYoGo's interactive map, which is "kind of like a Google map where it shows all the locations around Pueblo where they can visit and earn points," Moore said. "Inside that description, it says exactly where the QR code is located. That way they don't have to go searching for it."

Points can be collected at City & County Parks and Recreation locations, Pueblo City Transit, the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo, the YMCA of Pueblo, the Pueblo Zoo, Lake Pueblo, libraries, Pueblo Arts Alliance studios Pueblo House and Boys & Girls Club locations.

They can also be earned by participating in mentoring programs, extracurricular activities and volunteer work.

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Businesses offering rewards to youths include Colorado State University Pueblo, Pueblo Community College, Taffy's, Gypsy Javas, the Pueblo Arts Alliance, Pueblo D60, Pueblo Parks & Recreation and the Pueblo Ice Arena.

"We hear all the time that there is nothing to do for young people in Pueblo and I'm really hopeful that SoCoYoGo will help to eliminate that stigma," Martinez said.

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Communities that Care to help teens find healthy fun in Pueblo