Pasadena Unified School District schools and offices close for spring break Monday, April 6, through Friday, April 10, but free, confidential mental health services for students and families will not shut down with them.
The district is reminding Pasadena and Altadena families that a network of crisis hotlines, digital wellness tools and telehealth counseling remains available around the clock and on weekends — including through PUSD’s partnership with Daybreak Health, a school-based telehealth provider the district brought on after the January 2025 Eaton Fire to expand student access to mental health care, according to the PUSD website.
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling or texting 988 or chatting online at 988lifeline.org. The Crisis Text Line offers the same around-the-clock access; users text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained counselor. Both services are free and confidential.
For LGBTQ+ youth, The Trevor Project provides 24/7 crisis support by phone at 1-866-488-7386, by texting START to 678-678, or through online chat at TheTrevorProject.org. The nonprofit is the largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization serving LGBTQ+ young people in the United States, according to its website.
California offers two free, state-funded digital platforms as well. The Soluna app, built for Californians ages 13–25 through the state Department of Health Care Services, provides one-on-one coaching, self-guided wellness tools and peer support forums at no cost and with no insurance required. BrightLife Kids, for children ages 0–12 and their parents, offers free video-based behavioral health coaching and on-demand resources. Both apps are available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Through PUSD’s Daybreak Health partnership, students ages 5–19 can access telehealth counseling for stress, anxiety, depression, attention and focus, relationships and coping skills, according to the district. Appointments are available Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., even during school breaks. The services are confidential. Families can submit a care request at care.daybreakhealth.com/patient/create-account.
Daybreak Health is a school-based mental health provider that partners with districts to match students with licensed clinicians for virtual therapy, according to the company’s website. PUSD expanded its partnership with Daybreak after the Eaton Fire, which destroyed more than 9,000 structures in Altadena, to help students cope with the disaster’s aftermath, according to district communications.
PUSD’s Student Wellness and Support Services department, based at 351 S. Hudson Ave. in Pasadena, also operates two internal mental health programs — PUSD Mental Health Services and THRIVE: School Mental Health — that provide individual therapy, crisis intervention and case management on school campuses during the regular school year.
Families seeking mental health support for a PUSD student during or after spring break can contact the district’s mental health services team at (626) 396-5920 or mentalhealth@pusd.us.
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