Press releases, News and Stories

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I Matter Representative 

May 12, 2026

Read the full article here. 

I Matter Colorado began in 2021 as a way to provide access to mental health and substance use disorder services for youth, and to address any needs that may have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. I Matter connects Colorado youth 18 and younger (21 and younger for those receiving special education services) with a licensed therapist for up to 6 free counseling sessions. Since its inception, I Matter has provided over 81,000 sessions to roughly 20,000 youth in all 64 counties across Colorado.

Youth that have utilized I Matter resources have stated that the I Matter program was helpful and productive. One youth said the therapists they worked with were, “Super kind and understanding people. I have used I Matter in the past and they have compassion for others and can make things work out for you and all of their other kids.” Another commented, “[My therapist] is awesome, they are my favorite therapist I have ever had in my four years of taking therapy. [My therapist] understands and validates me and my feelings, and I always feel great and motivated after appointments.”

Youth Action Councils, supported by Partners for Youth, have identified a need for more accessible mental health resources in the Yampa Valley and are helping connect local youth to Colorado’s I Matter program as a key support.

Emory Keel 

May 5, 2026

An evening centered on connection, gratitude, and recognition brought together some of the Yampa Valley’s dedicated volunteer community based mentors last Thursday at the Veterans Center. The soiree was a small opportunity to pause and honor the individuals who consistently show up for youth across the community.

Throughout the night, Partners for Youth celebrated volunteer mentors and community-based activity volunteers from the past five years. Along with the handout of 10 awards and  superlatives highlighted the unique ways mentors make a difference in the lives of young people.

In total, the more than 25 mentors in attendance represented over 115 years of combined service through the Community-Based Mentoring program. Their impact spans everyday moments, sharing meals, getting outside together, showing up to events, offering academic support, and, most importantly, building steady, trusting relationships with youth.

“We are so immensely grateful for everything you do for the mentees in your life,” said Mentoring Program Director Erin Miller. “Thank you for being here and for celebrating mentoring with us and with each other.”

The evening carried a strong sense of reflection, with many mentors recognizing the long-term relationships and personal growth that come from their role. Former Executive Director Michelle Petix was also in attendance, a founding board member who later took on the executive director role and was a mentor. She was honored with the “OG Award” in recognition of her lasting impact.

Guests enjoyed live music, food, and beverages, along with a meaningful takeaway: LEGO flowers for each mentor, symbolizing the care, intention, and growth they cultivate in the lives of youth.

The event was made possible with support from SBNY, whose sponsorship helped create a memorable evening dedicated to celebrating mentorship and their volunteerism. 

John Camponeschi

Craig Press Daily, April 21, 2026

Read the full article here. 

A group of local students is stepping forward to address one of the most urgent challenges facing their generation: mental and behavioral health.

The Moffat County Youth Action Council, a youth-led program administered by Partners for Youth, has joined forces with the Health Partnership to create a four-part education series designed to help adults better understand the realities that young people face every day.

The series, developed entirely by youth council members using a Human-Centered Design approach, aims to strengthen communication between generations while opening the door to conversations that are often avoided or misunderstood.

John Camponeschi

Craig Press Daily, Feb. 10, 2026

Read the full article here.

Partners For Youth took the opportunity to highlight the role mentoring plays in supporting young people across the Yampa Valley during National Mentoring Month while concurrently recognizing nearly three decades of local service to the community.

Partners For Youth, which is based in Steamboat Springs, serves youth in Routt and Moffat counties through a range of mentoring and youth empowerment programs. According to the organization, more than 130 youth in those counties were matched with trusted mentors in 2025, with more than 500 youth participating overall in mentoring and youth empowerment initiatives throughout the year.

National Mentoring Month is an opportunity to raise awareness regarding the impact mentors can have in young people’s lives while also encouraging community members to consider becoming mentors.

Suzie Romig

Steamboat Pilot, Feb. 10, 2026
Read the full article here. 

For Steamboat Springs resident Annaleigh Bonds and her young mentee through nonprofit Partners for Youth, a favorite activity is to go swimming at Old Town Hot Springs and then get ice cream at Lyon’s Corner Drug.

Through their match in the Community-Based Mentoring program, the trained adult mentor and youth partner have fun doing everything from cross-country skiing to snowmobiling and paddleboarding. Bonds said Partners for Youth staff do a good job of matching adults and youth who have similar interests and personalities.

“For me, it’s just been a really rewarding experience, and she has become a big part of my life,” said Bonds, 31. “I love being a support system to her, but I’ve learned a lot from her as well. You go into it wanting to serve the community, and you also learn a lot about yourself.”

Shannon Lukens

Steamboat Radio, Jan. 24, 2026

Read the full article here. 

January is National Mentoring Month, and this year Partners For Youth is preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary and exciting program growth and successes. Partners For Youth supports youth in the Yampa Valley through mentorship, empowerment, and trusted adult engagement so that they can face life’s challenges and thrive.

National Mentoring Month is a time to celebrate the mentors who make a real difference in a young person’s life and to encourage anyone who’s been thinking about mentoring to take the next step.

Only 17% of low-income, rural youth have access to a trusted mentor. Through community-based, school-based, and peer mentoring programs, Partners served more than 133 youth in 2025 and addressed this gap for many vulnerable youth. 

Emory Keel 

Jan. 22, 2026

January is National Mentoring Month, and this year Partners For Youth is preparing to celebrate its 30th anniversary and exciting program growth and successes. Partners For Youth supports youth in the Yampa Valley through mentorship, empowerment, and trusted adult engagement so that they can face life's challenges and thrive.

National Mentoring Month is a time to celebrate the mentors who make a real difference in a young person’s life and to encourage anyone who’s been thinking about mentoring to take the next step.

Only 17% of low-income, rural youth have access to a trusted mentor. Through community-based, school-based, and peer mentoring programs, Partners served more than 133 youth in 2025 and addressed this gap for many vulnerable youth. 

“Our school-based mentor’s presence and impact on our students is palpable every single day. She is a trusted adult for so many of our struggling students, and it's evident that they've made progress with their social skills and attendance since beginning to work with her” says a school staff member about the impact of their School Based Mentor.

Research shows that mentors play a powerful role in providing young people with the tools to make positive choices, attend and engage in school, and reduce or avoid negative behaviors. In turn, these young people are:

• 55% more likely to be enrolled in college.
• 81% more likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities.
• 78% more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities.
• More than twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or sports team.

Mentoring makes a difference, and Partners hears that message daily from both youth and mentors. “It’s rewarding to pass on knowledge and make a difference in someone’s life. It reminds me of my own struggles at that age, and having positive role models is why I do what I do today,” shared a current Partners mentor.

National Mentoring Month is the time of year where engagement from community members interested in becoming a mentor is highest. This year, with the support of the mentoring community, we are encouraging adults within the Yampa Valley community to go beyond just digital engagement and become involved in real life. Mentoring relationships are at their best when connections are made between a caring adult and a young person who knows that someone is there to help guide them through life choices.

Partners always has youth on their waitlist. To become a mentor, please our “Get Involved” page and apply here. 

John Camponeschi

Steamboat Pilot, June 11, 2025
Read the full article here.

The Hayden Youth Action Council, a program of Partners for Youth, will roll up its sleeves Friday and work on a beautification project at the Hayden Town Park. The project includes tree and flower planting and will be capped off with food, drinks and giveaways for participating teens.

For the youth, who are using tools ranging from shovels to paintbrushes, the event is more than just a project — it’s a chance to plant and nurture roots of belonging, purpose and pride in a community experiencing rapid change.

“Four years ago, Partners for Youth extended the Youth Action Council program to Hayden,” said Sarah Everett, Routt County Empowerment Coordinator for PFY. “Originally, it was mainly in Steamboat Springs, and then it moved to Moffat County. Heidi Brown started it in Hayden at about the same time with a group of teens that were mostly upperclassmen and seniors.” 

John Camponeschi

Steamboat Pilot, May 29, 2025
Read the full article here.

When Steamboat Springs High School senior Makena James learned that the opioid overdose treatment bill she had worked on for three years had been signed into law, she cried.

“I’ve poured my blood, sweat and tears into it,” James said. “It was such a wonderful moment to see that something I did as a teenage girl from Colorado is going to help the lives of everyone in this state.”

Senate Bill 25-164, which was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis on May 5, increases statewide access to naloxone, a lifesaving medication that can help reverse opioid overdoses. The measure is a testament to years of community-based advocacy, which began with a student-led project through the Partners for Youth’s Steamboat Springs Teen Council. 

John Camponeschi

Craig Daily Press, April 8, 2025
Read the full article here.

When Lindsey Kohler first arrived in Routt County in 2009 for a one-year AmeriCorps term, she never imagined she’d still be here more than a decade later, let alone leading the very organization that brought her to the Yampa Valley in the first place.

“I came here to be a school-based mentor through the AmeriCorps program, thought I’d be here for a year, met my husband and did not leave,” said Kohler, who is now the executive director of Partners for Youth. “And now here we are, three kids later.”

That spirit of connection and commitment to place is central to the work of Partners for Youth, a nonprofit serving youth across both Routt and Moffat counties through one-on-one mentoring, empowerment through youth-led initiatives.

Steamboat Springs Teen Council

Mental Health Minute

Steamboat Pilot, April 8, 2025
Read full the article here.

Routt County is situated in what is known as the “suicide belt,” a region on the Western Slope where suicide rates are significantly higher than the national average. In the past, the focus in Routt County has primarily been on providing resources for adults, often overlooking the mental health needs of youth.

Over the last year, the Steamboat Springs Teen Council has shifted its focus to address this gap by highlighting essential local and statewide resources for the youth community in Routt County.

Youth for Youth campaign

Steamboat Springs Teen Council is a part of Partners for Youth’s Youth Action Council (YAC) Program. The purpose of Youth Action Councils is to give teens a voice and empower them to make positive change in their community.

The Youth for Youth (Y4Y) campaign was launched by Steamboat Springs Teen Council in July 2024. Its goal is to encourage open discussions about mental health and create awareness of vital resources for youth within the Routt County community. 

Underage vaping higher in Yampa Valley than statewide

Suzie Romig

Steamboat Pilot, October 28, 2024

Craig resident Kali Hedman first tried vaping at age 12 when she was stressed during middle school.

By age 13, Hedman was vaping, or inhaling e-cigarette vapor, five to six times a day, which continued for about a year.

“One of my friends had given me a vape, and I soon got addicted,” Hedman said. “I just thought it was a one-time thing. For a little while it made me feel good, and then I started stressing when I couldn’t have it. It bothered me that I was hiding things from my mom, but then again, I had an addiction.”

With the support of Moffat County Youth Action Council and the free program My Life, My Quit, Hedman stopped vaping. She said the education helped her realize the toxic chemicals she was putting in her body.

Read more here

Hayden Youth Action Council hosts first event October 25

Suzie Romig

Steamboat Pilot, October 16, 2024

Following a summer event that encouraged teens to learn about harm reduction while enjoying free hamburgers and playing outdoor games, Steamboat Springs Teen Council members are hosting their next event as a free “boba bash” on Tuesday evening for all high school students.

The free Bubble Tea Trick and Treat party to promote healthy youth connections will start at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Causeway Coffee House, 427 Oak St., in Steamboat. The event will feature boba tea-making, pumpkin painting and cookie decorating contests, and giveaways.

This year Steamboat Springs Teen Council is focusing on the Youth For Youth, or Y4Y, campaign to support youth mental health, promote local resources and raise awareness, Teen Council President Sunny Winn said.

Read more here

Suzie Romig

Steamboat Pilot, July 19, 2024

The Steamboat Springs Teen Council is kicking off a year-long youth mental health awareness initiative called Youth4Youth starting with a free hamburger cook-out and peer-to-peer education evening dubbed Hamburgers and Harm Reduction.
The event is set for 4-6:30 p.m. Monday including free food, door prizes, games of spike ball and big Jenga, and free harm reduction kits including Nalaxone. The event will include training on the proper use of Nalaxone, a medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.
Hamburgers and Harm Reduction on Monday will take place at 480 Rollingstone Drive off of Pine Grove Road in south Steamboat..
Read more here! 

Lindsay Kohler, Human Resource Coalition

Craig Press, Oct 3, 2023

“It has helped me with my school work. I have also really enjoyed getting to talk to and hang out with my mentor. I feel like I have another friend in school.”

This quote comes from a student who was in the Partners for Youth School-Based Mentoring program last school year. Our School-Based Mentoring Program places part-time paid mentors in local schools to support students socially, emotionally and academically.

Read more at https://www.craigdailypress.com/news/human-resource-coalition-partners-for-youth-program-supports-craig-middle-school-students/

Craig Press, Aug 4, 2023

Partners for Youth will present a free evening of live music starting at 4 p.m. Aug. 26 at Alice Pleasant Park in Craig.

The organization works by supporting youth through mentorship, empowerment and trusted adult engagement. For more, go to PartnersYouth.org. 

Steamboat Pilot, Apr 26, 2023

Partners For Youth is looking to bolster its popular and successful Community Based Mentoring Program that pairs volunteer mentors with mentees.

For more information, email Erin Miller at erin@partnersyouth.org

Steamboat Pilot, Jan 25, 2023

A year after acquiring Grand Futures, Partners of Routt County has updated its branding, introduced a new logo and changed its name to Partners for Youth — but the desire to help youth is unchanged.

Read more at: https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/director-says-partners-for-youth-stronger-a-year-after-acquiring-grand-futures/

Craig Daily Press, Jan 3, 2023

Mackenzie Mixon, Youth Development Coordinator

Partners for Youth’s Moffat County Youth Action Council is a youth empowerment program that encourages middle and high school aged youth to make a difference in their community.

Read more at: https://www.craigdailypress.com/news/hrc-column-partners-for-youth-supports-community-through-youth-engagement/

Steamboat Pilot, December 13, 2022 

The current class of the Steamboat Springs Teen Council does not want to see any more Yampa Valley residents die from opioid or fentanyl overdoses.

Read more at:  https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/steamboat-springs-teen-council-teaches-school-staff-about-overdoses/

Craig Daily Press, December 1, 2022 

A group of local youth will host a Narcan training event next week with hopes of combating opioid abuse in the community. 

Read more at: https://www.craigdailypress.com/news/young-people-in-moffat-county-to-host-overdose-prevention-training-as-they-help-drive-prevention-efforts-across-yampa-valley/

Steamboat Pilot, October 3, 2022

Partners in Routt County is celebrating 25 years, and the nonprofit is inviting the community to gather Oct. 15 at the Steamboat Grand to celebrate a long list of accomplishments.

Read more at:  https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/partners-in-routt-county-invites-community-to-celebrate-25-years-in-steamboat-springs/

Steamboat Pilot, January 2, 2022

Two well-known local nonprofits have combined forces, as Partners of Routt County acquired Grand Futures Prevention Coalition at the start of the new year.

The mission of the two groups, now under the umbrella of Partners, is to mentor, support and prevent substance abuse in youth and young adults ages 6 to 24 in Routt, Moffat and Grand counties.

Read more at: https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/two-local-nonprofits-combine/