Insufficient community infrastructure, a lack of supervision and guidance, and isolation in general are the top risk factors for West Marin youth, according to a coalition of community leaders that surveyed coastal communities in a series of meetings held earlier this year. The group, founded in 2014 to reduce underage drinking and drug use, held four community meetings in Tomales, Point Reyes Station, Bolinas and San Geronimo to gather ideas about the best ways to support local youth up to age 25. Madeline Hope, manager of the West Marin Coalition for Healthy Youth and the Transitional Age Youth who presented the findings last Wednesday, said they found common challenges and goals across communities. Those include increased transportation; more youth activities and mentoring; more parent education, support and networking; and new spaces dedicated to youth. But there were differences, too. San Geronimo, for instance, has many more after-school and other youth activities than Tomales, and students in Bolinas are rich in outdoor and indoor facilities compared to those in other towns, she said. Nevertheless, Ms. Hope identified the need for cohesion across the coastal zone. “The hope is that when we go back to Tomales or Bolinas [and] Stinson, we co-create whatever the activity is with the larger community; the activity is tailored to that area but other communities in West Marin have the option to come if they want to,” she said. The guiding questions at the forums, dubbed Community Cafés, included: Are the kids all right? What do youth in our community need to be healthy and resilient? And how can we reduce and prevent underage use of alcohol and other drugs? The program’s partners—including the county’s Health and Human Services Department, local libraries and school districts— participated, and young people were offered stipends for attending. Across West Marin, transportation was identified as the number-one need. Students and other stakeholders expressed interest in expanded bus services and utilizing Uber and Lyft as well as creating new community driving services. As far as new activities, some ideas were intramural sports leagues such as for frisbee, movie nights, bowling, blacksmith classes, beach outings and other outdoor ventures. The results from the workshops will be integrated into the coalition’s goals for this coming fiscal year. This year, the group received $40,000 from the county; those funds will be used for educational events to connect parents and youth to countywide resources related to social-emotional learning, mental health and addiction, bullying and drug-use prevention. “We’ve all been through this [part of life], but everything is different now,” San Geronimo resident Suzanne Sadowsky said last Wednesday. “They are all working, but they are working at jobs where they can’t support themselves, they can’t move out, find housing—and their parents are struggling, too. One of the best things we can do is encourage them to register to vote and let them know that, in many ways, their voices are heard at a local level.”