Heath trust receives $2M in state funds
WATSONVILLE >> The Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley is closing out 2023 on a high note. The local health care nonprofit recently received $2 million in state funding which will go toward a new youth drop-in center for mental health services in downtown Watsonville.
The funds come courtesy of Gov. Gavin Newsom's Master Plan for Kids' Mental Health and the California Department of Health Care Services, which is allocating $150 million toward 69 organizations to fund youth centers and increase access to mental health and wellness services for those in the 12-25 age range.
“As children across California struggle with mental health challenges, we are building the supports they need — in their schools and communities — to improve their health and well-being,” Newsom said in a statement. “These investments are becoming reality through a diverse workforce that is reaching every community.”
As with the other centers being funded through the grant, Watsonville's youth drop-in center will be an allcove center. The Palo Alto-based health support network, developed by Stanford University's Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing, has centers in San Mateo, Redondo Beach and Palo Alto with additional ones in development in Sacramento and South Orange County. Services include counseling, career coaching, medical advice, education support, life skills classes, recreational activities, substance use information and a quiet space to study, read or create art, according to the allcove website.
The center would fulfill a need for the Pajaro Valley, per a Community Health Trust news release, which also cited a Santa Cruz County California Healthy Kids Survey. The data from the survey indicated that 44% of Santa Cruz County students in 2021 indicated they felt sad and hopeless almost every day and 14% had seriously considered attempting suicide, including more than one-third of LGBTQIA+ students.
“Approximately two-thirds of my daily clinic visits involve child and adolescent psychiatric issues,” local pediatrician and project partner Dr. Garry Crummer said in a statement. “Our youth are feeling isolated and disconnected.”
The organizational partners for the new center include Watsonville Parks and Community Services, Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance and the United Way of Santa Cruz County.
“This is an incredible opportunity for organizations and individuals vested in the mental health of youth to leverage what already exists and build something with, by and for youth that helps them be well,” DeAndre' James, executive director of Community Health Trust, said in a statement.
The center is expected to open in 2025.