California officials brought their youth mental health campaign to South Los Angeles Sunday, using the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the backdrop for a statewide push aimed at expanding behavioral health care for children and teens—particularly in communities historically underserved by the mental health system.
The California Love, California Strong event, held during Mental Health Awareness Month, brought together families, educators, youth leaders and policymakers to highlight California’s multi-billion-dollar Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, a sweeping effort designed to expand access to care, strengthen school-based support systems, and build the next generation of behavioral health workers.
At the center of the message was California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who said one of the state’s biggest challenges is not simply creating programs—but making sure families know they exist.
“There’s so much noise in the world right now that people don’t know everything California is providing to families for free,” Siebel Newsom said during a brief interview. “These are really, really beneficial resources.”
State officials said California’s youth mental health initiative now includes more than 1,600 organizations participating in over 2,000 community-based activities statewide. Officials also said more than 70,000 behavioral health workers have entered California’s workforce, while over 500,000 children and families have accessed digital mental health supports such as Soluna.
Josh Fryday said California is also using public service as a pipeline into behavioral health careers, offering young service members education awards while placing them in schools and community settings.
For Jeria Barkley, a psychology graduate who spent a year working outside her field after struggling to find entry-level opportunities, the program opened a new path into youth mentorship and behavioral health training.
But lawmakers representing South Los Angeles said the state’s long-term success will depend on whether those investments reach the neighborhoods that have historically carried the deepest burdens.
Sade Elhawary, whose district includes much of South Los Angeles, said communities across South L.A. have already seen progress—from school wellness centers to certified wellness coaches and a growing willingness among young people to talk openly about mental health.
“There have been huge, huge gains,” Elhawary said.
Still, she said Black and Latino families continue to face serious barriers—especially when trying to find culturally competent providers who accept Medi-Cal and understand the realities of working-class communities.
“South Central is mostly Black and Latino, and when we think about culturally competent providers, they aren’t always available,” Elhawary said. “In a community like ours, we’re still facing significant barriers—not only to health care services, but especially mental health services.”
Elhawary said the next phase of accountability will require shorter wait times, stronger data collection, and sustained investment in community-based healing spaces—not just statewide announcements.
“We have to make sure our young people aren’t just hearing that help exists,” Elhawary said. “They have to be able to actually access it.”