For general mental health support, contact your local mental health department. California Department of Health Care Services also suggests Network of Care as a great resource for learning more about mental health and searching for a wide variety of services and supports in your community.

NOTE: The exact contact information and details for the resources highlighted above may change at any time. Please visit the organizations’ websites for the most up to date information. 

Organizations

The California Children’s Trust
The California Children’s Trust (CCT) is committed to working together to reinvent our state’s approach to children’s social, emotional, and developmental health. CCT is a statewide initiative that seeks to improve child well-being through policy and systems reform.

California Mental Health Advocacy for Children and Youth (CMHACY)
The mission of CMHACY is to empower and expand the coalition of individuals in California who work to uplift and enhance the lives of all children, youth and families.

California Pan-ethnic Health Network
California Pan-ethnic Health Network promotes health equity by advocating for public policies and sufficient resources to address the health needs of communities of color.

California Youth Connection
CYC is a statewide organization comprised entirely of youth ages 14–24 with direct experience of our state’s foster care, mental health, and juvenile justice systems. CYC facilitates youth-led organizing, education, and advocacy, providing a transformational experience of community and individual empowerment.

Fresno Barrios Unidos
Fresno Barrios Unidos provides young people with the skills and opportunities, they need to thrive in their communities and give back. Their approach is holistic, culturally sensitive, and inclusive of all.

NAMI California
NAMI California strives to empower members to lead lives of dignity and respect by providing them with education, resources and advocacy.

Psypher LA
The mission of Psypher LA is to destigmatize mental health through urban dance workshops that increase mental health literacy, highlight dance as an expressive outlet, and partner with local mental health organizations.

PEERS
PEERS confronts mental health stigma by delivering support groups, workshops, and community outreach. We are the premier peer-led mental health alternative for Alameda County residents.

Riverside Youth Opportunity Center
The Youth Opportunity Center (YOC) serves as a one-stop shop where those ages 14 to 22 can get job training, help with resumes, learn interviewing skills and find out about job opportunities.

The SAC Connect
The SAC Connect provides youth & young adults with the education, support, and community connections to increase mental health awareness and encourage self-care.

Stepping Stones
A TAY Resource and Support Center

Stop Stigma Sacramento
The anti-stigma and discrimination project has produced materials in multiple languages and posted them throughout the county to encourage people to talk about mental illness, promote positive success stories, and educate people about the truth of mental illness.

VOICES
VOICES brings together more than 40 partnering agencies to provide housing, education, employment, and wellness services to transitioning youth, ages 16–24. Created and run by youth, each year VOICES serves more than 1,500 youth transitioning to adulthood from foster care, mental health, and juvenile justice settings.

Yolo County Drop In Centers
Yolo County Health and Human Service Agency specialty mental health consumers can participate in drop-in Wellness Centers located across the county. The Wellness Centers offer a variety of rehabilitative services, skill-building groups and computer labs with internet access. Consumers are encouraged to engage in wellness and recovery activities.

Youth In Mind
YIM is a nonprofit organization founded and steered by youth affected by the mental health system. Youth In Mind members participate in multiple levels of leadership and advocacy, including member leadership summits, mental health conferences, and local advocacy activities with the purpose of promoting positive change through authentic youth engagement. YIM Resource: STOMP Toolkit: A toolkit designed in collaboration with No Stigma No Barriers to facilitate youth wellness.

Young Minds Advocacy
YMA is a nonprofit organization founded to address the number one health issue facing young people and their families— unmet mental health needs. Using a blend of policy research and advocacy, impact litigation, and strategic communications, YMA works to change attitudes towards mental illness and break down barriers to quality mental healthcare for young people and their families.

Reports

Websites and Videos

Too Damn Young
Our journeys are all different, but our starting points are all the same. We’ve all lost someone we love. Now, we’re left to figure out a new normal. Too Damn Young is a hand to hold while we figure this out.

National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens
This website is a project of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This site is organized to help you find what you are looking for, whether you are a teen, middle or high school teacher, or parent. The purpose of this site is to facilitate learning about the effects of drug use on the brain, body, and lives of teens.

Sangu Delle: There’s no shame in taking care of your mental health
When stress got to be too much for TED Fellow Sangu Delle, he had to confront his own deep prejudice: that men shouldn’t take care of their mental health. In a personal talk, Delle shares how he learned to handle anxiety in a society that’s uncomfortable with emotions. As he says: “Being honest about how we feel doesn’t make us weak — it makes us human.”

Kevin Breel: Confessions of a depressed comic
Kevin Breel didn’t look like a depressed kid: team captain, at every party, funny and confident. But he tells the story of the night he realized that — to save his own life — he needed to say four simple words.

Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness
Many people with serious mental illness are challenged doubly. On one hand, they struggle with the symptoms and disabilities that result from the disease. On the other, they are challenged by the stereotypes and prejudice that result from misconceptions about mental illness. As a result of both, people with mental illness are robbed of the opportunities that define a quality life: good jobs, safe housing, satisfactory health care, and affiliation with a diverse group of people.

General Mental Health Facts
Millions of Americans are affected by mental health conditions every year. Here are some facts about the prevalence and impact of mental illness.

Kids Data
If you like to geek out to facts and numbers on different topics, then Kids Data is for you. Depending on what you are looking for, they can provide an easy-to-use pie chart based on whatever topic is of interest to you. Their goal is to raise the visibility of key issues affecting California’s children and make it easy for leaders and policymakers to use data in their work, whether that’s assessing community needs, setting priorities, tracking progress, making program or policy decisions, preparing grant proposals and reports, or other work.

The History of Bipolar
Bipolar disorder is one of the most highly investigated neurological disorders. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that it affects over 2 percent of adults in the United States. Of these, nearly 83 percent have “severe” cases of the disorder. Unfortunately, due to social stigma, funding issues, and a lack of education, less than 40 percent receive what the NIMH calls “minimally adequate treatment.”