Families in Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Troy, Royal Oak and the rest of Oakland County can work with a Blackburn mentor by video. Each student or young adult has one dedicated mentor, meets weekly or more often in Eastern time, and stays in touch by text and phone between sessions. Our team is based in Los Angeles, so everything here happens online.
Suburbs built around the auto industry
Much of Oakland County grew up along Woodward Avenue and I-75, and a lot of households still have a connection to the auto companies, their suppliers, engineering firms, hospitals or the law and finance offices in Troy and Southfield. The work inside the industry has shifted toward software, electrification and engineering, which brings opportunity and uncertainty together, especially in households where a parent’s role has been reorganized. Housing ranges from lake communities in Waterford and West Bloomfield to older neighborhoods in Ferndale and Royal Oak, and many graduates now look toward living in Detroit itself.
Oakland County, Michigan by the numbers
All but one of these figures are county-level, from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates via Census Reporter. The last is statewide.
- 52.2% of Oakland County adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (county level, American Community Survey 2024). In a county where most parents went to college, the expectation that a teen will follow can feel automatic, and a mentor makes room for the student to choose.
- The median household income is $98,709 and the median value of an owner-occupied home is $365,500 (county level, American Community Survey 2024). Comfortable suburbs make it easy for a young adult to stay home without a timeline, which is where a written plan helps.
- The mean travel time to work is 26.4 minutes (county level, American Community Survey 2024), mostly by car on I-696, I-75 and M-59. In a snowy February, a session that needs no drive is the one that actually happens.
- The median age is 41.3 (county level, American Community Survey 2024), a county of established families with teens and college students.
- 32.5% of Michigan adults ages 18 to 34 live with their parents, close to the national 32.9% (state level, 2024 American Community Survey as compiled by FinanceBuzz). Moving back after college is ordinary here; drifting for a year without a plan is the part worth avoiding.
Session times from Oakland County
Michigan is three hours ahead of Los Angeles. We book each session in Eastern time.
- After school: a 4:00 pm session in Troy is 1:00 pm for the mentor, and 5:30 pm after practice is 2:30 pm Pacific.
- After work: 7:00 pm Eastern, after the drive home from Detroit, is 4:00 pm Pacific; 8:00 pm Eastern is 5:00 pm Pacific.
- A limited number of early-morning sessions before school or a commute can be arranged, and weekend sessions are available too.
What a typical week looks like
- A 60 minute video session at a fixed time, often right after school or after practice.
- Two or three specific goals for the coming days, written down by the student, not handed to them.
- A short text check-in midweek so a slow Tuesday does not become a lost week.
- For high school students, progress updates to a parent when needed, with the student aware of what is shared.
Labor Day starts and long winters
Michigan law says the public school year may not begin before Labor Day, with limited exceptions such as year-round programs (state law, MCL 380.1284b). That gives Oakland County families a later start than most of the country and a full August of summer, with weekends up north at a cottage or campground, the Woodward Dream Cruise and long days on inland lakes. A mentor can use those weeks to set a routine, so the first marking period starts strong instead of catching up.
From November through March, daylight is short and the weather keeps people inside. For teenagers, that often means more hours on a phone or a console and fewer reasons to leave the house after school. A mentor helps a student build a weekday structure that holds up in February, not only in June: a set homework window, one physical activity and a clear plan for weekends. Our guide on screen time and school has practical ideas.
What Oakland County parents describe
- A capable high school student whose grades have slipped and who no longer talks about school at dinner.
- An engineering student worried that the role they were preparing for will look very different by graduation.
- A young adult moving from a parent’s house in Troy to an apartment in Detroit or Ferndale who needs a budget that works.
- A high achiever in a competitive district who is exhausted from comparing herself to classmates every day.
For young adults back home in the suburbs
Moving back in with parents after college or a first job can work well with a plan. Without one, months slip by. A mentor helps set a job search routine, a savings target and a realistic move-out date, and keeps the agreement between parent and adult child honest. Our guide on moving back home after college covers the details, and young adult mentoring explains how we work with people in their twenties.
Where a mentor helps
A mentor is one steady adult outside the family who meets every week, follows up between sessions and keeps the plan practical. Mentors are not tutors, therapists or admissions counselors. For a teen, the best starting point is our page on mentoring for high school students. For the city itself, see online mentoring in Detroit; for Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, online mentoring in Ann Arbor; across the state, Grand Rapids. Details on video sessions are on our online mentoring page, and statewide information is on mentoring in Michigan.
Common questions
Do Oakland County families use video mentoring?
Yes. Every client in Oakland County, from Troy and Birmingham to Novi and Rochester Hills, meets their mentor by video, with text and phone contact between sessions. Our team works from Los Angeles, and in-person sessions are offered only there.
Can sessions fit before or after a commute into Detroit?
Evening sessions after the drive home are the easiest to book: 7:00 pm Eastern is 4:00 pm for the mentor. Some early-morning times can be arranged despite the three-hour difference, and weekends are open too.
Can a mentor help a student start strong after Labor Day?
Yes. Because Michigan schools start after Labor Day, August is a good month to begin. A mentor helps the student set up a calendar, a homework routine and two or three goals for the first marking period, then checks in weekly once classes start.
Does a parent take part with a high school student?
Yes. A parent or guardian can join the intro call, help agree the goals and receive progress updates when needed.
Do you work with young adults who already have jobs?
Yes. Many young professionals use a mentor for career planning, routines, money and follow-through, often meeting in the evening their time.
Get started
Want to talk about a teen or young adult in Oakland County? Call (888) 305-5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or answer a few quick questions. It takes about 2 minutes, and you can book a free 20 minute intro call at the end.
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Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.