For 30 years, the Clarkston Coalition for Youth has been guided by a simple belief: when a community supports its young people, everyone benefits.
Prevention work rarely makes headlines, but its impact can be life-changing. It shows up in a parent’s first conversation about vaping, a classroom lesson on healthy decisions, a community event that brings families together, a quiet partnership that keeps a family from falling through the cracks. Prevention isn’t about telling young people what they can’t do, it’s about giving them the knowledge and support to thrive.
For three decades, the coalition has done exactly that, often without anyone noticing. Whether we’re partnering with schools, supporting community education, or raising awareness about issues facing youth and families, our work touches countless moments in Clarkston life. Our name isn’t always front and center, but our mission runs through initiatives that make our community healthier and stronger.
None of this happens without collaboration. We’ve built lasting partnerships with schools, healthcare providers, local government, law enforcement, businesses, faith organizations, and volunteers who share one goal: helping young people succeed. Together, we address substance misuse, vaping, mental health, suicide awareness, and healthy relationships. Our partnership with Alliance gives us evidence-based strategies and resources, letting us stay focused on local families while putting proven approaches to work.
Today’s young people are growing up in a world very different from the one that existed 30 years ago. Social media, rising mental health challenges, and evolving substance use trends have created pressures previous generations never faced. The issues have changed, but our mission hasn’t: every child deserves the chance to grow up healthy and supported.
Prevention belongs to an entire community, not one organization. A parent starts a hard conversation. A teacher notices a struggling student. A business sponsors youth programming. A volunteer gives up a Saturday. None of these actions look like much alone, together, they build a community where young people know they’re not alone.
As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, we recognize the thousands who’ve shaped this journey, board members, volunteers, community leaders, educators, healthcare professionals, parents, students, and partners who’ve made prevention a shared commitment, not just a program.
None of this happens without funding, and funding has been under pressure for some time, grants cut, budgets shrunk, with more of the same expected ahead. That reality doesn’t shrink the need; it grows it. We depend more than ever on donors, sponsors, volunteers, and neighbors who believe this work is worth protecting. We can’t do this alone, and we’re asking Clarkston to help make sure funding cuts don’t slow this work down.
Our upcoming 30th Anniversary Gala celebrates that history while looking ahead, honoring the partnerships that brought us here and investing in the future of prevention. We invite you to celebrate this milestone with us, and to help us keep this work going for the next 30 years. Because when a community invests in its youth, it invests in its own future.
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