Mental Wellness Centers

Our Goals

• Receive clear commitments from school district leaders about resources and strategies to provide mental health resources to students and families. 
• Receive clear commitments from school districts like Coachella Valley Unified and San Bernardino City Unified on the establishment and opening of wellness centers. 
• Influence decision makers and other stakeholders to pursue local, state and federal funding to support mental health programs and wellness centers.

THE FACTS: Students desperately need mental health support

• Depression and anxiety among youth increased 25% during the pandemic, while suicide is now the second highest leading cause of death for ages 15 to 24 (Center for Disease Control, 2021)

• 1 in 6 high school youth in California has considered suicide since the beginning of the pandemic, with 1 in 3 saying they are clinically depressed (Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, 2021).

• LGBTQ and low income students of color were more likely than their white peers to have feelings of suicide or depression, while also being less likely to receive services and support (MHSOAC, 2021).

The Importance of Mental Health Wellness Centers

Creating wellness centers and programs inside schools or taking more intentional approaches to addressing student mental health is a PROVEN approach that is already making a direct impact across California, and it can help youth in Riverside, San Bernardino, and the Coachella Valley too!

• Los Angeles Unified School District has 17 wellness centers that provide individual and family therapy.

• San Francisco Unified School District — together with the city’s public health agencies — operates 19 service centers with short-term group and personal therapy.

• Sacramento County hired several licensed clinicians, family therapists, and social workers to provide support to existing providers inside school sites.

• In San Bernardino City, Sierra High School’s wellness center program is nationally recognized and already helping bring positive results to that community.