The Healthy Futures Coalition (HFC) and Healthy Futures Youth Coalition (HFYC) work to address youth substance use and mental health challenges in Boulder County. By centering youth voices and collaborating with adult allies, HFC/HFYC leads Boulder County in becoming a healthier community powered by youth leadership. HFC and HFYC are funded by the Elevating Prevention in Colorado (EPIC) grant through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
Healthy Futures Coalition and Healthy Futures Youth Coalition
The Healthy Futures Coalition/Healthy Futures Youth Coalition is a group of passionate youth (aged 14-18 years old), adults, and community organizations, dedicated to preventing youth substance use and promoting youth mental health in Boulder County. At the heart of our work is the commitment to amplifying youth voice and leadership within our community.
We believe in the power of collaboration, where both youth and adults partner on youth-led initiatives. We have a shared leadership model with a multi-generational Steering Committee of community members including youth. By addressing the specific concerns and challenges identified by our youth in combination with local data and trends, we aim to create lasting change in Boulder County. Through our collaborative efforts, we foster sustainable work that can continue for years to come. Together, we are forging a healthier, brighter future for our community.
The Healthy Futures Coalition (HFC) is a multi-generational coalition of adults and youth. HFC meets quarterly to bring together prevention professionals, local organizations, other coalitions, community members, and youth to coordinate on substance use prevention efforts around Boulder County. In between HFC meetings, our youth coalition and work groups meet to build focused strategies aimed at addressing youth substance use and mental health in Boulder County.
The Healthy Futures Youth Coalition (HFYC) is our youth-only coalition. Twice monthly, youth (aged 14-18 years old) from across the county come together to engage in topics surrounding youth substance use and mental health, gain leadership experience, and build policy and advocacy skills. This group is fully facilitated by youth staff with support from adult mentors. Together, we strive to foster a community that embraces healthy attitudes toward substances and mental health. We believe that by putting the youth voice at the forefront of our work, we can create meaningful change in Boulder County.
Healthy Futures Coalition (HFC) and Healthy Futures Youth Coalition (HFYC) are supported by the Elevating Prevention in Colorado (EPIC) grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). We collaborate across the County to support youth and families and strengthen substance use and mental health prevention in Boulder County. Through our EPIC grant, we have partnered with the I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County to continue supportive parenting programming across Boulder County. Our Youth Advisors, paid youth staff, make sure young people have a leadership role in this work.
The Healthy Futures Coalition Steering Committee includes youth, community partners, and other members who help plan meetings and guide our overall direction. The Data Workgroup and Parent Workgroup meet monthly to focus on specific projects and come together at full coalition meetings to align our goals and efforts. The Healthy Futures Youth Coalition meets twice monthly to develop leadership and community changemaking skills.
Community Action Plan
Our Community Action Plan is a living document that we use to track our coalition goals and progress, and share our work.
The BoCo Youth Calendar is a calendar of free or low cost, substance-free events and resources for youth in Boulder County. Community organizations may submit events happening in Boulder County. HFYC manages this calendar to share youth events and resources around Boulder County.
The BoCo Youth Calendar includes:
- Local Youth Events & Activities
- Member organizations
- Other local prevention coalitions and resources
Get Involved
There are so many ways to get involved with us, and we welcome new members to join us at any time! To attend coalition meetings, work groups, or the Steering Committee, please fill out the contact form below with your information and which groups you are interested in joining.
Community members who attend coalition, work group, and/or Steering Committee meetings representing themselves (not as a paid organizational representative) and complete the required forms are eligible for a stipend of $25 per meeting paid out on a quarterly basis. Youth coalition members receive an annual participation stipend of $400. Please contact healthyfuturescoalition@bouldercounty.gov to learn more.
Attend Healthy Futures Coalition Meetings
The coalition meets quarterly to align youth substance use prevention and mental health promotion work across the County. To support community member involvement, we provide dinner at every meeting and can provide transportation, language interpretation, and/or childcare with advance notice.
Join the Steering Committee
The Steering Committee meets virtually, once every other month on Thursdays from 4:30-5:30. The Steering Committee is a group of representatives from different parts of the community who make decisions about the coalition’s direction and priorities as well as plan coalition meetings. If you are interested in joining the Steering Committee, please contact healthyfuturescoalition@bouldercounty.gov.
Become a Youth Member with the Healthy Futures Youth Coalition
The Healthy Futures Youth Coalition (HFYC) follows a cohort-based model to bring together a group of youth who want to make change in Boulder County around substance use and mental health. Youth learn leadership and advocacy skills and create a project to address an issue they see in the community. Youth who complete a full school year in the coalition receive a $400 stipend.
To join the coalition youth must:
- Commit to a full school year of participation
- Be between the ages of 14 and 18
- Live, work, play, or attend school in Boulder County
- Apply using our application form by the deadline listed on the form.
- Our application for the 2026-2027 school year is closed. Youth interested in joining the coalition for the 2027-2028 school year should fill out our interest form and will be contacted when the next application opens.
We encourage all eligible youth to apply and particularly LGBTQ+ youth, Latine youth, youth of color, and youth with lived experience with substance use and/or mental health challenges. Being part of HFYC does not require previous work experience.
Work Groups and Partner Coalition Meetings
The Parent Workgroup meets monthly to guide evidence-based parenting programming offered in Boulder County, recommend improvements, and keep parents engaged with prevention efforts beyond the parenting programs. To learn more about parenting programs and the Parent Workgroup, please contact: healthyfuturescoalition@bouldercounty.gov.
The Data Workgroup meets monthly and brings together evaluators, data analysts, community organizations, and community members to review population health data, provide recommendations on data sharing and shared measurement, and increase efficiency with sharing timely data. To learn more about the Data Workgroup, please contact: healthyfuturescoalition@bouldercounty.gov.
The Substance Use Advisory Group (SUAG)
SUAG is our partner shared leadership coalition of providers, policy makers, educators, community members with lived experience working across the continuum of care to prevent and reduce the impacts of opioids and methamphetamine on our community. To learn more about SUAG and attend meetings, please email SUAG@bouldercounty.gov.
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