Youth Leader MEETING NOTES AND AGENDAS can be found HERE.

The YOUTH LEADER TASK LOGS can be found HERE (access is restricted).

The Youth Leader CALENDAR can be found HERE.

Program Coordinator:
Naomi Bledsoe
nbledsoe@frcog.org
413-774-3167 x144

Program Supervisor:
Kat Allen, she/her
kallen@frcog.org
413-774-3167 x119

About the Communities That Care Coalition’s Youth Leadership Program

The Communities That Care Coalition brings together schools, families, youth, and the community to improve youth health and health equity.  The Coalition has initiatives focused on reducing youth drug and alcohol use and other risky behaviors, on promoting nutrition and physical activity, and on addressing white supremacy culture and promoting racial equity.  
 
The Communities That Care Coalition is working to increase opportunities for more community voice in our coalition, and we know that youth leaders offer unique perspectives, valuable feedback, and the ability to connect more deeply with schools and young people.
 
We are striving to have a diverse group of Youth Leaders who can provide insight representing different school districts, different genders, incomes, races, ethnicities, health issues, and more.  With the help of Youth Leaders, the Communities That Care Coalition and our member organizations can improve the quality of prevention services their schools provide and reach more deeply into the community, increasing our collective ability to improve youth health and health equity.

Communities That Care Coalition’s Youth Leadership Program was launched in the Spring of 2024.  It is a collaboration between the Franklin Regional Council of Governments’ Partnership for Youth, the Workforce Board and all of our local public school districts. The program is funded jointly by the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Youth Leaders are high school students selected by their school administration to represent their school district in the Communities That Care Coalition.  They are hired and supervised by the Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board.

We currently have EIGHT amazing Youth Leaders from FOUR local public school districts. We aim to have Youth Leaders from all NINE of our local public secondary schools by Fall 2024.

For more information about the program, please contact Naomi Bledsoe at nbledsoe@frcog.org or Kat Allen at kallen@frcog.org.