Blackburn Mentoring offers one-on-one mentoring to people in Santa Clarita, with one dedicated mentor who meets by video or in person in Los Angeles. Clients set a few clear goals, turn them into weekly steps and stay in touch with their mentor by text and phone between sessions.
Life in the valley north of the city
Santa Clarita brings together Valencia, Saugus, Newhall and Canyon Country, linked by paseos, parks and a lot of newer neighborhoods. Many households chose it for space and quieter streets, and many adults pay for that with a long drive on the 5 or the 14, or a Metrolink ride, into the city. Old Town Newhall gives the area a small downtown, and the hills around it are full of trails.
Long commutes shape family life. Parents can leave early and get home late, and teenagers end up managing more of their own afternoons. That works well for some students and badly for others.
What families and young adults bring to a mentor
- A high schooler who is coasting. Capable, but missing assignments, staying up late and avoiding the subject of what comes next (mentoring for high school students)
- A college student living at home. Commuting to class, working a shift or two and struggling to keep it all organized (community college mentoring)
- A young adult who has stalled. Out of school, in a job that was supposed to be temporary, unsure how to move out (young adults feeling stuck)
- A commuting professional who wants the hours outside the car to count for something (mentoring for professionals)
How a week with a mentor looks
The first session picks two or three goals that matter now. A typical set for a high school junior might be: submit every assignment by Friday, get to bed before midnight on school nights and apply for one part-time job. The mentor turns each into a small weekly commitment, checks in midweek by text and reviews it honestly at the next session.
For a young adult, the goals look different: a budget, a job application routine, a date for moving out and a plan to get there. The method is the same. Small, specific steps, checked often.
Parents stay informed
When the client is in high school, a parent or guardian can join the intro call, agree on the goals and get regular progress updates. For older clients, updates to family happen only with their permission. Many parents in commuter households find this a relief: someone else is checking on the plan during the hours they are on the road. See mentoring for families for how updates work.
Video most weeks, Los Angeles when it helps
Because of the drive, most Santa Clarita clients meet by video, which fits a session in right after school or before an evening shift. In-person meetings happen in Los Angeles when a face-to-face conversation is worth the trip. Neighbors to the south in the Valley can read about mentoring in Northridge and Porter Ranch, and our page on mentoring in Los Angeles covers the wider city.
Mentors are not tutors, therapists or admissions counselors. With permission, they coordinate with professionals a family already works with.
Getting started
- Answer the five-minute assessment about who the mentoring is for and what needs to change.
- A person on our team reads it and books a free intro call, where goals, schedule and rates are covered.
- You are matched with one mentor who stays with you.
- Sessions begin: 60 minutes, weekly or several times a week, mostly by video, with in-person meetings in Los Angeles.
Coming of age in the Santa Clarita Valley
Santa Clarita has a planned, orderly feel: wide streets like McBean Parkway and Soledad Canyon Road, shopping centers every few miles, and hillsides that turn gold by early summer. Film and television crews shoot on ranches and stages tucked into the canyons, and the rest of the local economy leans on health care, light manufacturing, retail and small business. Fire season and Santa Ana winds are part of the calendar, and a closure on the Grapevine or a crash near the 14 interchange can wreck a whole evening.
Teenagers here often get a license early because almost nothing is walkable, and that freedom arrives before they have much practice managing it. Young adults who want to stay close to family run into rents that push hard against an entry-level paycheck, while those drawn to production work learn that crew jobs can be irregular, early and long.
Situations that come up often in Santa Clarita
- A newly licensed teen whose afternoons now stretch from the last bell to dinner with no one checking in
- A young adult picking up day calls on productions who needs a plan for the weeks with no work
- A recent graduate who wants to stay in the valley but has not worked out the numbers for moving out
- A student looking for a first job at the shopping centers and restaurants nearby, and nervous about the interview
- A family whose evenings disappear whenever traffic on the 5 backs up south of the valley
Because of the distance from central Los Angeles, video is the usual format here, and many clients like a short session between the last class and dinner, or before an early call time. In-person sessions happen in Los Angeles when it suits, at a convenient, appropriate place, and texts and calls fill the days between. See mentoring and coaching in Los Angeles, the details of video mentoring sessions, and our guide to a teen’s first job if that is the first goal on the list.
Mentoring is not therapy or clinical care. If someone needs mental health treatment, a licensed clinician is the right place to start, and a mentor can work alongside them.
The school picture in Santa Clarita
Most Santa Clarita students in grades 7 through 12 attend the William S. Hart Union High School District, after elementary districts across the valley. It is a young, family city: the U.S. Census Bureau reports that 24.6% of residents are under 18 (county: 19.2%) and 39.8% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024).
Many parents commute long distances down the 5 or the 14, which leaves less time for daily check ins. A mentor fills that gap with a weekly plan and midweek follow up, mostly by video. See mentoring for high school students, Northridge and Porter Ranch, the Antelope Valley and all Los Angeles County areas.
Related
- Mentoring in Los Angeles
- Mentoring in the Antelope Valley
- Mentoring in Glendale and Burbank
- Mentoring across California
- Mentoring across Los Angeles County
Common questions
Do mentors come to Santa Clarita?
Regular sessions for Santa Clarita clients usually run by video. In-person meetings take place in Los Angeles and can be arranged on the intro call.
Can sessions fit around a commute?
Yes. Sessions are scheduled around your week, and a 60 minute video session fits easily into a busy day.
My teen does not want a mentor. Is it worth trying?
Often, yes. The intro call lets a student meet the team first, and the goals are set with the student, not handed down.
Is this the same as tutoring?
No. Mentors help with planning, habits and follow-through. They do not teach course content.
Get started
Ready to talk about mentoring in Santa Clarita? Call (888) 305-5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.
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Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.