“I’ve got nothing but love, respect and admiration for Jasmyne and Guided Passages crew. I’m both grateful and indebted to them in a hundred different ways and a hundred different reasons. This was my son’s second year. The first year I was blown away by the impact it had on him. The change was instant, noticeable from the second he stepped into the parking lot on his return. The trip is a core memory, it ain’t ever going away. But I was unprepared for this year. Last year it was all about the impact the trip had on him. This year, it was all about the impact he had on his fellow hikers. Turns out he’s awesome. He’s sweet and he’s kind and funny and more of everything that I’ve always known, but to hear it from his peers just makes me smile. This trip changes your kids. In the best possible ways. You hear it from the kids in the circle every time, Guided Passages helps them find themselves.”
“Our girl made it home on Saturday after five days and four nights backpacking in the Marble Mountains with Guided Passages for Youth. This was her third year participating and her final middle school adventure! Over the course of the week, they hiked miles of beautiful wilderness, swam in crystal-clear alpine lakes, had a dance party under the stars, journaled, cooked, spent a day solo, built friendships, and immersed themselves in nature. On Sunday morning, the group gathered with their guides and families for a closing circle where each child was honored and celebrated for who they are and how they showed up during the journey. It was a powerful rite of passage experience for all of us. [Her Dad] and I are so proud of this girl of ours and that we could send her on this trip. What a special week and an incredible way to close out her middle school years.”
“An absolutely thrilling, exciting, and truly life-changing experience for our 14 year old. This journey was far more than a hike—it became a path to self-growth, reflection, and personal realization. Every step challenged, inspired, and renewed her. The guides created an unforgettable experience, making the adventure both meaningful and empowering. She came away with incredible memories, a fresh perspective, and a deeper appreciation for myself and the journey. Highly recommended to anyone seeking adventure with purpose. She can’t wait to go next year.”
”My daughter just completed a week-long Guided Passages backpacking trip, and there aren’t enough stars to convey how transformative it was. At 18, about to graduate high school and head off to college, she came back more confident, self-assured, and resilient, with friends for life and a new appreciation for her own resourcefulness, for nature, and for what she’s capable of. Jasmyne led with genuine warmth and steady leadership, making sure my daughter felt seen, valued, and celebrated as herself. The rest of the guiding team brought that same care and warmth throughout the trip. As her mother, watching this transformation has meant more than words can say.
“Our daughter recently returned from a backpacking trip with this amazing organization, and I cannot say enough about her experience. The hiking, camping, and adventures were incredible, but the real transformation was what happened on the inside.
The leaders created a safe, supportive environment, where these young girls could challenge themselves, build confidence, form meaningful relationships, and discover strengths they did not know they had. We sent our daughter on a backpacking trip, but she came home with something for more valuable: greater confidence, self-respect, resilience, and hope for the future.
The impact you had on our daughter is difficult to put into words. I wholeheartedly recommend this program.”
“When my teen returned from a guided passeges wilderness backpacking trip, she said that she had an absolutely phenomenal time and that it was the best experience of her life. Swapping out screens and daily life for trails, swimming, and campfires was exactly what she needed to recharge and connect on a completely different level. The experience fostered a genuine collaboration of support, and friendships were made. My teen walked away asking to return next year. The guides were incredibly knowledgeable, ensuring everyone felt safe and confident regardless of their prior backpacking experience.
From the gear provided to the backcountry meals, everything was well-organized and stress-free. If you are looking for a unique, impactful experience for your teen, I can’t recommend this highly enough. Thanks for making this trip accessible, safe, and fun with such a great outdoor experience.”
“Thank you so very much for creating such a wonderful private, inclusive space for our girls. My daughter had a great time yesterday. She talked all about the experience and is eager for next week to arrive. My heart is bursting with joy! Thank you! Thank you!”
“I have really enjoyed this group. It has helped make me feel a lot more connected post-Covid and having just moved here. I loved the games and activities; they were all fun. Another thing I liked about this group was that it didn’t feel like work in the way other counseling and therapy has felt. It felt more like just thoughtfully hanging out.”
“My 12 yo daughter attended the rights of passage wilderness backpacking trip and loved it! Jasmyne is an amazing mentor and guide and my child felt very comfortable with her and enjoyed the experience so much! I highly recommend this challenging adventure for your tween/teen! She learned so much about herself and loved everything about it!”
“Our 12 year old daughter went on a guided passages rites of passage backpacking trip. She had the time of her life She learned lots of valuable lessons and made a bunch of friends. Guided Passages really did their best to help us overcome any barriers we had that would have prevented her from attending this trip. Thank you so much again for everything. This was the trip of a lifetime for our child.”
“I am thrilled to have [my daughter] participating in this amazing offering in the fall. This is the woman who led the backpacking trip (for five days and four nights in the Marbles) that [my daughter] absolutely loved this summer. The emotional growth that we saw from just that one week with Jasmyne and her team still has us in awe. I want to share this opportunity for any local friends who might not yet be aware of it. If only something like this had been available when I was growing up!”
“My daughter joined in on a 5 day youth backpacking trip summer of 2024 and she had a wonderful time. It was a great experience for her. It was a very hard hike for her, but the feeling of accomplishment afterwards far outweighed the temporary discomfort. They kept the kids very well engaged in games and council and so much more. My daughter enjoyed it all. She made lasting friendships as well. Jasmyne was so accommodating and helpful getting ready for this big trip. We felt comfortable and well prepared. I highly recommend Jasmyne and her unique programs that touch tween and teen lives in a very positive way!”
My life was chaotic, all over the place, and I was not necessarily happy. I was very lost, very chaotic, I didn’t know my purpose, and I didn’t know where I was going. I would say I’ve made changes all around…I have found the hugest thing and the biggest thing I have taken is that what you put out, and the mindset you have, that’s what you’ll receive, 100%. You couldn’t choose a better coach, and I wouldn’t go for anyone else. It’s a very big connection that I have made with you, and that you have helped me through. You have helped me through a whole lot. You won’t regret it. It’s a big life change. It will help you even if you think you don’t need it, you think you don’t want it. You truly do. You truly come to a point of realizing a lot of things that you didn’t realize before, and it’s for the better, it’s not for the worse, so you won’t regret making the decision to join and put the work in.
I was going through my own battle in my head. My life before going through this was like a puzzle but missing it’s important pieces, like can’t be found. While taking this, it helped me recollect and find those pieces and put the puzzle back together. This helped me balance out and learn how to fix those problems. So it was really nice to learn through all those strategies. I’ve had therapy in the past, but it didn’t work. Out of everything I’ve done, this really helped. Just join it, it’s worth it. Definitely join it. It is worth every single second of your time.
You ‘re still making a difference in My daughter’s life, something that will change the lives of everyone she ever meets, and in turn mine as well.
Before the program, I didn’t really do anything with my life. I didn’t really think about the future at all. Or at least they were such intangible dreams that it was like wow, that doesn’t count as thinking about it. It was just depressing. There was nothing going on. Literally nothing. I just sat around all day. It was very boring, and I just felt generally terrible. Since completing the program, it feels like everything’s a lot more tangible now, like I could start following my dreams instead of just dreaming. I didn’t expect it to work at all, especially since my Mom recommended it, I was like this is not going to work at all, but it did, so that was unexpected. Even just that I didn’t hate it was unexpected. I didn’t expect to actually want to learn anything from it, but it’s also like my mindset changed, which was not expected. My mind doesn’t change easily.
My daughter has been struggling since covid, with school, with confidence, with goals, and with community. Struggling with all of the things a teenager usually does but made worse by 2 years of isolation when she should have been creating bonds and exploring who she wanted to become. After working with Jasmyne at Guided Passages, I am seeing her once again having fun and finding her way to becoming a young adult. She still has problems but now she has the desire ability to walk through these problems and come out more confident and stronger than ever. If you have a young adult in your life, I would highly recommend talking to Jasmyne, she has truly found her purpose working with these kids. She was able to reach into the issues with my daughter that I was too close to see and make a huge difference in her life.
I am very very happy and pleased with my sessions with Jasmyne! She helped me really understand my thoughts, emotions, what I want in life, how to control my thinking and letting go of what I can’t control which was such a major breakthrough for me! I would recommend anyone I know to Jasmyne.
He is really benefiting a lot from this. I’m really pleased that I listened to my gut and reached out to you when I saw your video.
It feels like everything is a lot more tangible now, like I could start following my dreams instead of just dreaming. I didn’t expect it to work at all, but it did!
Jasmyne was so influential in helping my son understand and overcome his anxious thoughts and feelings. His emotional and mental health greatly improved from coaching with Jasmyne. She gave him tools that worked, and he became an overall more confident person! I am thankful for the support she provided my son as he navigates the challenges of adolescents.
He was really happy after his meeting with you. He said he really likes that you two are coming up with goals for him and it “makes him excited about breathing”. He seems really happy about his future which is amazing. I just love that you’re on his team. You are making such a huge difference in his life. I just am so excited having you coach him. I value you SO MUCH Jasmyne. Thank you for all that you’re doing.
I highly recommend working with Jasmyne if your teen is in need of support through the rocky road of navigating this chapter of life. My 12 year old has shown noticeable improvements with regulating her emotions, communicating her feelings, and being more respectful with her words. She has become excited to explore what it is inside her that makes her special, and to be proud of those things. And the courage to LOOK! She is beginning to blossom and love herself more and feel more confident. It has been a huge gift to offer my daughter this support, and Jasmyne has been a guiding light in this process!
Jasmyne’s kind, welcoming, and knowledgeable presence has been valuable for my 14-year-old daughter. In her coaching sessions she gained skills and confidence. She is now more able to set goals, change her thought patterns, and regulate her emotions. Jasmyne also offered crucial support to us as parents, with wise guidance, assurance, and resources to better understand and support our teenager. Highly recommend!
“Thank you so very much for creating such a wonderful private, inclusive space for our girls. My daughter had a great time yesterday. She talked all about the experience and is eager for next week to arrive. My heart is bursting with joy! Thank you! Thank you!”
“I have really enjoyed this group. It has helped make me feel a lot more connected post Covid and having just moved here. I loved the games and activities; they were all fun. Another thing I liked about this group was that it didn’t feel like work in the way other counseling and therapy has felt. It felt more like just thoughtfully hanging out.”
“These meet ups have been the thing I look forward to every Monday. Rain or shine, they’re always wonderful. I particularly like the parts where we talk about our day (rose and thorn and weather check). It always feels so nice to get things off my chest but I also don’t feel shamed for not saying anything. If you ever need a place to interact with other kids on a more emotional level, this is it.”
“My 9th grade daughter LOVES this group and its leader Jasmyne. She did one of Jasmyne’s circles a year or so ago, and it was super helpful for her mental health and kind of coming back from the pandemic social trauma that happened for a lot of our kids. Jasmyne has another session coming up and still has a few spots available. Please check out this offering, it is super thoughtful, and Jasmyne is really good at connecting with teens and tweens (who aren’t always the easiest to connect with if we’re being real, right?)”
“This program has helped my child come out of their bubble and has started a dialogue within our family.”
“After years of little socialization, Youth Connect got me to feel like I could be vulnerable around people besides my family again.”
“I would say to others that this truly became a safe and comfortable place to talk about the good and bad things in life. I never felt like I would be judged for something I said. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a place where I felt like I wasn’t going to be judged.”
“I liked how I could be myself without feeling judged. I least liked nothing really. You guys are awesome. I’d tell someone that this group is really positive and helpful in tough situations, and in general, it’s a good group to just be yourself.”
“I got more friends!”
“I like that we can talk about everything and nobody judges you. There isn’t anything I didn’t like. You guys did an amazing job with us. The advice that you guys give really helps my day-to-day life. I would highly recommend this program for someone who wants to join.”
“I liked the group of people that were there and the positive energy. This experience strengthened bonds with me and the people that also participated.”
“It’s fun, and they have great snacks, and fidget toys, and it’s led by a great lady.”
“I like how accepting everyone was. I felt more at home here than in my actual home. It was amazing from start to finish. I found out a lot more about myself, and it was worth it. The biggest thing I got was re-learning that my feelings are valid, and I always look forward to these meetings.”
“It’s easier than you think, and enjoyable. I liked the communication and connection with other people, the free food, and the outside games a lot. I like that nothing was forced upon me, like religion.”
“It was super fun.”
“They have good snacks, and it’s a great place to say what’s on your mind. I started opening up more.”
“It’s amazing!”
“It’s a break from the world. I can come here with no expectations or pressure and be myself. I love all the adults and kids and I’m so happy I got the opportunity to make these friends. I think I know how to handle quite a few more real world experiences now and how to live happier.”
“It’s fun and creative and there is free food!!!”
Kerrick was raised in the Hill Country of Austin, Texas where he studied at the University of Texas. After some travel, he moved to the Rogue Valley of Oregon with a vision to farm and support youth. He completed his Bachelor’s of Science in Applied Cultural Anthropology with Honors in 2004 at Southern Oregon University, and devoted over a decade supporting youth and their families navigate local and state social service programs. During this time, he and his partner cultivated a food forest at their home and founded Verdant Phoenix as an educational mini-farm in 2016.
Verdant Phoenix Farm became an expression of a way of life for Kerrick. He is interested in the relationships between humans, soil, microbes, plants/trees/shrubs, food, culture, time, and the web of life. As these elements inform his horticultural practice, Kerrick enjoys supporting landscapes, gardens, farms, and their people who are interested in belonging to the land.