Youth Community Health Assessment report is here

||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS |||

San Juan County Health & Community Services is proud to announce that the 2025 Youth Community Health Assessment Report is here. This report follows our 2023 Community Health Assessment as looks specifically at the health and well-being of youth and families in our community. You can read the full report online in English and Spanish or find hard copies at your local health department office and more copies will be available at other locations around the county soon.

What is a Youth Community Health Assessment?

Community Health Assessments are tools used by public health organizations to look at the overall health of a community. This is a process that looks at the ways many organizations, schools, health care providers, health systems, and policies in a community contribute to the health of their community.

This is the first time our department has developed a Community Health Assessment that focuses on youth and families. We heard from many community members in our 2023 Community Health Assessment who wanted to learn more about youth health and well-being, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What did our report find?

The top needs identified in youth focus groups were:

Mental health education and support
Reproductive health education
Better technology and social media management

Two additional needs were identified by youth, but with less frequency:

More youth activities and opportunities
Substance use prevention support and honest conversations with adults about substances

The top needs adults identified for youth were:

Access to health care and services
Mental health and well-being
Better supports for basic needs and economic security

What’s next?

The Department of Health & Community Services will use finding from this assessment along with the 2023 Community Health Assessment to create a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). This plan will identify priority areas, evaluation metrics, and establish a path toward creating a healthier community for all residents in San Juan County.

Relevant URLs:

About San Juan County’s Department of Health & Community Services

San Juan County’s Department of Health & Community Services is responsible for community and environmental health, mental health and substance abuse programs, senior services, affordable housing projects, and more. The department has staff and offices on Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Islands. For more information about San Juan County’s Department of Health & Community Services, visit www.sanjuancountywa.gov/1777/Health-Community-Services.

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