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Teens sitting together.

Twelve Talks to
Have With Teens

About this Project

In early 2017, Jefferson County Communities That Care held focus groups with over 65 diverse youth from Jefferson County, Colorado, to find out what was behind youth substance misuse, violence, hopelessness and anxiety. What we found out was simple, and yet also profound.

Our youth need more support from trusted adults in their lives, especially parents and guardians.

Since many of us in the coalition are parents ourselves, we know that parents love their children more than anything. And we also know that sometimes finding the right words-- and the right resources-- can be frustrating, confusing and overwhelming. We hope that Twelve Talks to Have With Teens will be a resource for parents and guardians to "be that adult for a teen in your life."

Jefferson County Communities That Care logo

The big idea

Jefferson County Communities That Care offers a brief summary about one of the Twelve Talks to Have With Teens each month, along with Facebook and Twitter posts. We disseminate these to parents and caregivers through partner newsletters, email blasts, blogs, Facebook and other media. If your organization would like to provide Twelve Talks content on your website, blog, social media or newsletter, find our more here.

 

Obviously, Twelve Talks to Have With Teens does not encompass every topic parents and trusted adults need to discuss with youth. However, an extensive data collection project completed by Jefferson County Communities That Care in 2017 and 2018 indicates that these particular conversation topics are talks that:

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  • Teens wish more adults would discuss with them.

  • Adults in Jefferson County could use tools to start the conversation and information to answer questions accurately.

Twelve Talks to Have With Teens was developed by:

  • Charmaine Brittain, Twelve Talks to Have With Teens Chair, University of Denver

  • Pamela Gould, Twelve Talks to Have With Teens Project Lead, CTC Staff, Jefferson County Public Health

  • Marlene Alba, Jefferson County Public Health, CTC Youth Staff

  • Jason Conger, Denver Family Therapy Center

  • Sophie Dila, University of Colorado Boulder

  • Chris Eberhardt, Community Member

  • Jamie Haney, STRIDE Community Health Center

  • Amy Hansen, Jefferson Center

  • Seth Johnson, Community Member

  • Kelly R. Kast, Jefferson County Public Health

  • Scott Lomurray, Sources of Strength

  • Katie Lazar, Jefferson County Public Health

  • Melody Maendel, Jefferson County Public Health, CTC Youth Staff

  • Michael Miller, Jefferson County Public Health

  • Marc Morgan, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

  • Joel Newton, Jefferson County Public Health, CTC Sraff

  • Ethan Pierson, Jefferson County Public Health, CTC Youth Staff

  • Amy Sciangula, Jefferson County Human Services

  • Tracy Selph, Jeffco Safe Schools

  • Ashley Sever, Jefferson County Public Health

  • Nikki Work, Jefferson County Public Health

  • Noella Rios, Jefferson County Public Health

  • Kathy Smith, Jefferson Unitarian Church

  • Douglas Snow, Jefferson County Public Health, CTC Youth Staff

  • Fran Taffer, Jeffco Public Schools

  • Samantha Taylor, Jefferson Center

  • Michael Terranova, Family Tree

  • Heather Trish, Jefferson Center

  • Bing Walker, CTC Staff with Jefferson County Public Health

  • Kate Watkins, Jefferson County Public Health

Jefferson County Communities That Care

The Twelve Talks to Have With Teens project is a component of the Jefferson County Communities That Care initiative, a coalition made up of community members, including over 50 parents, youth, educators, government officials, behavioral health providers and business owners. Find out more about our work by watching the video below.

OUR VISION: JEFFERSON COUNTY IS A THRIVING, HEALTHY & SAFE COMMUNITY FOR OUR YOUTH.

Jefferson County Communities That Care uses a structured, evidence-based community change process focused on preventing substance misuse, violence and hopelessness/anxiety among youth by reducing risk factors and improving protective factors.

A Note About Diversity and Inclusion

Our process included members of a multitude of Jefferson County partners, including each of the “Drug-Free Communities” sectors below.

12 sectors represented in Drug Free Communities

To understand issues facing Jefferson County youth, we invited local Jefferson County youth to two town halls and a series of eight focus groups. A very diverse group of young people, including multiple ethnicities, races, gender expressions and life situations, shared their thoughts with us and formed the basis of Twelve Talks to Have With Teens. 

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In order to make sure we reach our entire community, we are forming a team of Spanish-speaking parents, students and content experts to translate the Twelve Talks to Have With Teens content into Spanish in a culturally relevant and appropriate way. The Spanish version of Twelve Talks to Have With Teens is a priority next step for this project.

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Email us at jeffersoncountyctc@gmail.com if you would like to help with this effort to create a great Twelve Talks to Have With Teens resource in Spanish.

Funding

Jefferson County Twelve Talks to Have With Teens is a project of the Jefferson County Communities That Care coalition. The project is administered by the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center and is funded through the following grant programs:

 

  • Coalitions Organizing for Prevention grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

  • Drug-Free Communities grant from the Centers for Disease Control

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