Beach Cities Receives $1 Million for Youth Wellness Center
Apr 01, 2022 10:00PM ● By Mb News StaffThe Beach Cities Health District has received $1 million in federal funding for its new allcove Beach Cities center, thanks to the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package signed last month.
The allcove Beach Cities center is scheduled to open later this year at 514 N. Prospect Ave. in Redondo Beach, offering mental and physical health resources, education and employment counseling, peer and family support, and substance use prevention programs to youth in the Beach Cities. The center is the result of a collaboration with the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing, the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, and Beach Cities Health District.
“I am pleased that the community project funding that I fought for has passed and has become law,” said U.S. Representative Ted Lieu, representing the Beach Cities in California's 33rd District, in a statement. “Millions of dollars will go directly to projects in Los Angeles County, and I am proud to have worked alongside so many local leaders, like Tom Bakaly at BCHD, to help ensure that our community has the resources it needs for a healthier, safer, and more resilient future.”
The allcove model was created by Stanford University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences' Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing. Based on an international model of integrated youth mental health, allcove provides a one-stop shop for young people ages 12-25 to access services, resources and support for friends, family and the larger community. The center is designed to be a safe place for youth that reduces stigma, embraces mental wellness and increases community connection.
When it opens later this year, the center will be in a temporary location at the BCHD. Later, it will be a permanent feature in Phase One of BCHD’s Healthy Living Campus project, which includes a re-design of its current Prospect Avenue campus. Construction on the Healthy Living Campus project is tentatively slated to begin in 2023.
“Beach Cities Health District has been creating a community conversation about allcove for several years, and we’re looking forward to working with them to build a safe and welcoming space for the young people of the South Bay,” said Dr. Steven Adelsheim, clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford and director of the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing.
BCHD is also seeking young people ages 16-25 to serve on the Youth Advisory Board for the allcove center
To learn more about allcove Beach Cities, visit www.bchd.org/allcoveBeachCities.