Click on dates to access overviews from recent Coalition Meetings on January 23, 2020 and August 15, 2019.

Beach Cities Health District partners with the Hermosa Beach City School District, Manhattan Beach Unified School District and Redondo Beach Unified School District to deliver programs that measurably improve the health and well-being of students and families. While physical health in the Beach Cities continues to improve, there is a growing need in the student population to address mental health and well-being.

Beach Cities Health District is just one of more than 100 local partners in the Beach Cities Partnership for Youth that will be collaborating to achieve measurable outcomes in improving student mental health and well-being and reducing substance use. The Beach Cities Partnership for Youth is comprised of representatives from the following sectors:

• Youth
• Parents
• Businesses
• Media
• Schools
• Youth-serving organizations
• Law enforcement
• Civic and volunteer groups
• Health care professionals
• State, local or tribal agencies
• Other organizations involved in reducing substance abuse
• Religious or fraternal organizations

Since January 2017, Beach Cities Health District has convened five stakeholder groups to address student mental health and well-being:

• Students: Youth Advisory Council
• Parents: Families Connected Parent Advisory Group
• Providers: Student Mental Health Provider Task Force
• Schools: School Advisory Board
• Community: Community Workgroup

Steering Committee: This group of community leaders will serve in an advisory capacity to guide the work of the Coalition and the Drug-Free Communities Grant.

• Stacey Armato, Mayor, City of Hermosa Beach
• Rachel Campbell, Campus Pastor, Wave Church, Hermosa Beach
• Jennifer Cochran, Vice President, Board of Trustees, Manhattan Beach Unified School District
• Kevin Cody, Publisher, Easy Reader
• Doug Gardner, Board President, Hermosa Beach City School District 
• Moe Gelbart, PhD, Executive Director, Thelma McMillen Center for Alcohol & Drug Treatment, Torrance Memorial Medical Center
• John Gran, President, Redondo Beach Kiwanis and Councilman, City of Redondo Beach
• Nancy Hersman, Mayor, City of Manhattan Beach
• Joan Stein Jenkins, Esq, Director, Beach Cities Juvenile Diversion Project
• Keith Kauffman, Chief, Redondo Beach Police Department 
• Alice Kuo, MD, PhD, Professor and Chief, UCLA Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
• Laura McIntire, Founder and Parent Advisory Co-Chair, South Bay Families Connected
• Vanessa Poster, Board President, Beach Cities Health District
• Ella Scalabrini, Student and Youth Advisory Co-Chair, Mira Costa High School
• Kelly Stroman, CEO, Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce
• Anthony Taranto, EdD, Executive Director of Student Services, Redondo Beach Unified School District
• Gary Tsai, MD, Medical Director and Science Officer, Substance Abuse Prevention & Control, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
• Angela Wilson, LMFT, Director of Mental Health Programs, South Bay Children’s Health Center

The Community Action Plan for Student Mental Health & Substance Use Prevention outlines key programs, partnerships and policies that are addressing these key health indicators. BCHD is just one of more than 200 local partners in the Beach Cities Partnership for Youth Coalition that are collaborating to achieve measurable outcomes.

Goals of the Community Action Plan

• Decrease prevalence of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use in teens
• Decrease stress and bullying and improve social-emotional well-being of youth
• Increase number of parents having conversations with their children about alcohol and drugs, social media, mental health and bullying