March Steering Committee Highlights
This past week, Marin 9 to 25 held its Monthly Steering Committee Meeting with keynote speaker Supervisor Katie Rice, who expressed her unwavering support and commitment to the well-being of the youth. Additionally, youth presenters from the Marin County Youth Commission (MCYC) shared valuable insights and plans for their sub-committees.
The MCYC comprises 23 young people who are appointed by the Board of Supervisors to inform them of the opinions of young people when voting on matters that affect youth. The youth commission splits into different subcommittees during the year, and each subcommittee takes on projects aimed at improving the lives of young people in Marin County. This year, the subcommittees are Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD), Housing, Mental Health, Disability Justice, and Education Equity.
The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Subcommittee's mission is to educate and provide resources to young people through harm-reduction strategies to break the stigma and empower teens to prevent overdoses. The subcommittee members reported that they became Narcan trained and met with community partners to establish a plan of action to distribute and lead Narcan training. They facilitated student Narcan training and distribution to San Domenico students and to the Youth Commission. They also partnered with ODFree Marin to distribute Narcan. The subcommittee's future plans include presenting at an Novato Unified School District (NUSD) board meeting about Narcan in schools, doing tabling events during school lunch breaks, training the Tomales Bay Youth Center students on administering Narcan, and facilitating four more trainings at other high schools in Marin County. They also plan to facilitate Narcan training at Marin school PTA meetings.
The Housing subcommittee presented its mission to bring awareness to the housing crisis in Marin County and work to implement policies and legislation that give housing opportunities to all Marin residents. The subcommittee attended a board meeting to add their public comment, talked to the Community Engagement Coordinator at Homeward Bound of Marin shelter, and sent emails to various housing organizations in Marin in hopes of partnering up. The subcommittee also spoke at Larkspur City Council public workshop on eviction protection for tenants. Their future goals are to make posters advertising why other youth should support affordable housing, partner with at least one organization, and set dates to volunteer as a subcommittee at a shelter.
The Mental Health subcommittee presented its mission to destigmatize mental health and promote well-being by connecting the community to equity-oriented resources and outlets. They have had meetings with community partners and presented the end-of-year forum slideshow to them. They have also made lists of possible event locations, workshops, and collaborative art piece ideas, and figured out scheduling and other logistics for the May Mental Health Festival. The subcommittee also plans to organize having dogs for finals week by partnering with different organizations such as the Marin Humane Society, SRHS wellness center, and the Elk's Lodge.
In conclusion, the Marin 9 to 25’s Steering Committee Meeting this March showcased the valuable work that the MCYC subcommittees have been doing to improve the lives of young people in Marin County. The subcommittees' work is community-oriented, and it is an excellent initiative that should be emulated by other communities to empower and uplift the youth.
If you are a youth in Marin (ages 9-25) or know someone who is interested in joining please reach out to Lauren Jacobson at Lauren.jacobson@bluepathhealth.com to learn more.
If you are interested in learning more about the Marin County Youth Commission please reach out to Sammy Lee at samlee24@ma.org.
Check out our Events page to learn more about future meetings and events!
