Activism

‘Let’s Talk’ a Valuable Toolkit for Middle and High School Families

“This initiative is such a benefit to our parents and youth to learn about the influence and risk of substance use and to have open dialog within families,” said Kathy Koblick, Marin HHS’s Public Health Division Director. “Over the past 2 ½ years as we have dealt with the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a rise in mental health struggles and substance use. Let’s Talk is impacting our community in a positive way by tackling some of these issues.”

Published

4 years ago

August 27, 2022

Oakland Post

Two volunteers hold up the new “Let’s Talk” booklet at a recent distribution event.

Program boosts awareness of underage substance use and mental health issues

Courtesy of Marin County

The third annual issue of the “Let’s Talk” booklet has been distributed to 5,000 Marin County families of this fall’s sixth and ninth grade students at local public and private schools. This resource educates parents on how to practice positive ways to communicate, listen and connect with their children as they develop through adolescence.

The booklet is developed by the Let’s Talk collaboration that includes the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Marin County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS), the Marin County Office of Education (MCOE), the RxSafe Marin grassroots coalition, the Marin Prevention Network, and Marin Healthy Youth Partnerships (MHYP).

Let’s Talk is a comprehensive program that includes community discussions, bookmarks, posters, postcards, and digital copies of the booklets all of which can be found on www.letstalkmarin.org. The community discussions are designed to further engage the community about these important issues with a background of solid science.

“Adolescence is a time of tremendous growth that is filled with opportunities and challenges,” said Linda Henn, the Let’s Talk program director and Vice President of MHYP Board of Directors. “Through Let’s Talk, we equip parents with knowledge to be supportive while they mentor their young person.”

Feedback from parents, young people, and public health personnel clarifies how Let’s Talk is a much-needed tool that helps parents navigate tough topics of their teens’ formative years.

Since its first 2020 issue, “Let’s Talk” has positively educated parents about how to help teens “navigate the tough stuff” they experience during their transition to middle school and high school such as challenges with mental health, substance use, puberty and social experience.

Surveys conducted fall 2021 reveal that parents of sixth and ninth graders believe “Let’s Talk” is informative and helpful. For example, one parent wrote: “The booklet takes an important issue and bravely introduces it to middle schoolers and their parents. Knowing schools and parent communities support open discussions is hopeful, helpful, and refreshing.”

Surveys distributed to attendees after each of the six Let’s Talk community discussions also had positive responses. “All panelists were terrific and the teens’ discussion of teen experience and parent and teen bonding was extremely informative, insightful and authentic,” one attendee wrote.

Many of the surveyed parents also stated an interest in youth perspectives about Let’s Talk. In response, a group of Marin high school interns have shared their responses about the updated booklet.

“Hearing teens out makes them feel like equals and lets them know that you care about their input, and what they have to say, which helps them to understand the decisions parents might have to make,” says intern Alexis Cartwright, a Redwood High School senior.

“When I was a freshman in high school, I felt that a lot of parents tend to bypass communication opportunities and do things like snoop on their kids’ phones or try sneaky ways to figure out what was going on with their kids,” I like Let’s Talk’s suggestion about how car rides, watching TV together, and local occurrences provide appropriate communications opportunities for parents to navigate conversations with their teens.” says intern Amanda Gong, a Novato High School senior.

For more information, email info@mhyp.org.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

The Warriors and Chase Host Black Excellence Scholarship Celebration at Chase’s Community Center

Don't Miss

California Chief Service Officer, Marin County Fire Officials Highlight Youth Workforce Investment

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.