Community Mobilization and Coalitions
Through community mobilization and coalitions, communities come together to promote the positive development of children and youth and prevent problems behaviors, including substance abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, school drop-out and violence.
Objectives of the community mobilization efforts include:
Bringing key leaders together to motivate community commitment to young people.
Partnering with community groups, schools, law enforcement, agencies, and others to expand youth development as well as substance abuse and violence prevention efforts.
Supporting the prevention efforts of community partners.
Providing technical support to coalition efforts.
The Board of Directors of TOGETHER! provides the direction for coalition work within the community.
Coalitions supported by TOGETHER! include:
The Thurston Council for Children and Youth Leadership Council and the Community Council, a countywide structure organized to help ensure that we are a community where all children and youth, ages 0 to 21, are healthy, safe, valued and successful.
Students Protesting Lies About Tobacco! (SPLAT!), a youth coalition working to prevent youth tobacco use through community education.
The Thurston County Meth Action Team, focused on the reducing and eliminating the harmful effects of methamphetamine use in our community.
The Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force, coordinating efforts to prevent prescription drug abuse by children and youth.
Voices of Youth, a collaboration of youth and adults, primarily youth-driven, working on issues deemed important to youth, mostly within the categories of safety and health.
Tumwater United for Families, a Tumwater-based coalition working for children and youth in Tumwater.
The South Sound Youth Collaborative is a group of youth representatives from prevention teams in Thurston County who meet once a month to strengthen the prevention force in the area.
The Tenino/Bucoda Community Coalition and the Rainier Community Coalition work to help young people succeed by addressing youth health, safety and substance abuse. Each works within the community it's named for.
TOGETHER! staff participate as members of the following local coalitions:
Thurston Early Childhood Coalition
Yelm Substance Abuse Coalition
Be the One Mentoring Coalition
Juvenile Justice Coalition
South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA), Comprehensive Cancer Control Program
Seattle Indian Health Board Tobacco Coalition
If you would like to become involved in any of these coalition efforts, please call (360) 493-2230 ext 10.