“Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.” —CDC
Below are mental health resources for youth (and others) living in the Bay Area.
- National Alliance on Mental Illness, San Francisco chapter— An organization that provides crisis hotline services, support groups, and training classes for people with mental illness and also their support systems (e.g., caretakers, household/family members, friends). NAMI support groups cater to a variety of diagnoses, cultural backgrounds, gender expressions/identities, etc. They also offer these services in Spanish. NAMI is the largest grassroots organization in the United States and provides support to millions of Americans across the country.
- California Health and Human Services—CHHS’s virtual mental health program for youth. This current initiative focuses on youth aged 13 and younger and aged 13–25 utilizing the BrightLife Kids and Soluna site/app. BrightLife Kids includes strategies helping adolescents navigate through emotional feelings, 1:1 meetings with mentors, setting boundaries on social media, etc. Soluna app focuses on activities such as journaling, 1:1 meetings with mentors, virtual peer support groups, and other tools to better their mental health. CHHS also offers crisis hotline services and support videos for LGBQT+ youth.
- Huckleberry Youth Programs—started in 1967 and mainly based in San Francisco, however open to everyone who needs them. Their mission is to “strengthen families and empower young people with services that promote safety in times of crisis, physical and emotional health and well-being, social justice in communities facing inequity, and educational success.” They believe when youth succeed, everyone else will follow.