Youth & Peer Empowerment

Advocacy Grants

The Commission contracts with community organizations to advocate in support of the MHSA’s goals and to change public perception and reduce the stigma associated with mental health challenges. Advocacy grants target eight specific populations; among them, Transition Age Youth (TAY) – youth ages 12 through 25 – and kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) students.

The current TAY advocacy grantee is the California Youth Empowerment Network (CAYEN), engaging youth and young adults who have been touched by the mental health, juvenile justice, or foster care systems by providing support and trainings to help TAY develop leadership skills, developing young people’s ability to advocate at the state and local levels, and developing a statewide directory of TAY drop-in centers.

The current K-12 Student advocacy grantee is Jakara Movement. Jakara Movement is working collaboratively with the Commission to plan and hold regional conferences that are student focused and youth-led. These conferences will provide opportunities for all students – including those who are underserved and marginalized – to participate in workshops, activities, and breakout sessions to build foundational knowledge of behavioral health, help identify services, train on the peer model, and increase skills in advocacy.

Read more about advocacy grants on the Community Advocacy page and see grant opportunities, including RFAs, RFQs, and applications, on the Grant & Funding Opportunities page.

allcove® Youth Drop-In Centers

Funded in part by grants from the Commission, allcove® youth drop-in centers aim to increase accessibility to affordable mental health and wellness services for youth between the ages of 12 to 25 and their families, including behavioral health, physical health, housing, education, and employment support, and linkage to other services. The allcove® centers provide culturally competent and relevant services for vulnerable and marginalized youth populations.

Crucially, decision-making at allcove® centers is youth-driven, with ongoing participation from youth through allcove® Youth Advisory Groups. Every decision, from the carpeting to staff hiring, from location to weekly programming, is made in partnership with the very youth who use the center.

Read more about the drop-in centers at the Commission’s allcove® initiative page.

Youth Innovation Committee

The Youth Innovation Committee formed in February 2019 to identify unmet mental health needs of California youth and identify opportunities for innovation. Composed of youth ages 15-25 from 12 different California counties, the Committee worked with a variety of partners to gather research, host focus groups, and conduct a statewide survey to better understand opportunities to improve the mental wellness of young people.

In pre-project focus groups, youth leaders identified priorities including the recruitment of a Youth Committee; a framework for listening sessions, ideation sessions, and a summit; and the language used to identify all aspects of the project. During the project, the Youth Innovation Committee worked with the Youth Leadership Institute, the Born This Way Foundation, California Youth Connection, The Children’s Trust, and others. The Youth Innovation Committee hosted three collaborative idea labs with youth and adult allies across the state, producing several innovative solutions for improving mental health outcomes in schools.

Following the idea labs, the Committee worked together to design the Youth Innovation Toolkit. This toolkit serves as a way for local, state, and national decision makers to center youth voices and include youth in designing mental health services for children and youth. The kit contains exercises, starter kits, and clear directions on running an idea lab to facilitate youth input.

Right Our Story

In July 2021, the Asian Pacific Islander (API) Equity Budget authorized the Commission to allocate $5 million to create and support a peer social media network project for children and youth, with an emphasis on students in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12 who have experienced bullying, or who are at risk of bullying based on race, ethnicity, language, country of origin, perceived race, or ethnicity.

The Commission, through its contractor Media Cause, partnered with a youth advisory committee to design, drive, and launch a multi-part social media anti-bullying campaign. On social media sites like Instagram and TikTok, the Right Our Story campaign shared anti-bullying messages and tools, encouraging followers to learn more, engage, and get involved. In an online forum, community members participated in activities like planning an anti-bullying action campaign in their own community or learning about how to embrace heritage and community to build resilience. And on the campaign’s website, youth shared stories of being bullied, like those shared below, and logged bullying incidents by clicking a Bullied Button and sharing their story. The campaign was also driven by advertising, both on social media and in partnership with the San Diego Padres baseball team. Additionally, during May 2023, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month – and Mental Health Month – Right Our Story supported an in-person Week of Action in schools that promoted anti-bullying messages. Overall the award-winning campaign garnered more than 345 million impressions across California, both online and offline including a Shorty Award, and gathered more than 4,000 submissions of heartbreaking bullying experiences.