Two CA Lawmakers Win $5M for Youth Mental Health Resources

Shreyas Nayak

The Peninsula/Silicon Valley’s Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and Santa Cruz/Santa Clara’s Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) were awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature on the 26-27 State Budget which secured $5M in funding allocated to allcove, the statewide network of mental health centers for youth. According to Assemblymember Berman’s press release about the resources, they provide, "low‑barrier, walk‑in access to integrated mental health and substance use services, peer support, care coordination, and school and community connections in a developmentally appropriate, stigma‑free setting”. 

allcove centers are youth-designed and youth-led, making them an easy walk-in support stem for young people’s mental health across the state. In Berman’s district, the release says, allcove Palo Alto offers services and allcove Half Moon Bay will soon launch support this Fall. Detailing the need for the funding, “Suicide remains the second-leading cause of death for youth ages 10-25 in California, and rates have increased over the last two decades. Year after year, more youth die by suicide than motor vehicle accidents”.

The budget passed with a comfortable blue-fuelled 53–17majority in the Assembly; every Democrat voting approved it, and every Republican voting opposed it. In the State Senate, two Senators did not vote, the final vote being 29-9. 

Berman has been a proponent of similar bills and budget items like allcove funding and has, “championed youth mental health policy to ensure California continues to provide accessible resources to young people who may be struggling”, throughout his tenure on the Assembly. He secured $1.7 million in 2018 in state funding to create a suicide prevention training offered to middle and high school students as well as school staff including administrators and teachers. This bill passed the Assembly and the Senate and now awaits Newsom’s signature. 

Many psychological and mental health industry professionals commended the lawmakers on their support and execution of the funding. "I am grateful to Assemblymember Berman for delivering this critical financial support, which will help ensure future sustainability of these vibrant and innovative youth mental health and wellbeing centers. Many young people and families who have enthusiastically advocated for allcove center support and expansion statewide are thankful for his tremendous efforts on their behalf,” said Steven Adelsheim, MD, the Director of the Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing. 

The Assemblymembers’s main reasoning for this budget boost for allcove is that, “resources like the allcove youth mental health centers provide vital care and support services to young people in our community and across the state”. 

Image Credit: sanjosespotlight.com/county-supervisors-show-support-for-funding-allcove/

Works Cited

California Budget, https://ebudget.ca.gov/home. Accessed 12 July 2026.

allcove. “allcove.” allcove: find your moment. find your space. find your center., https://allcove.org/. Accessed 12 July 2026.

Bay Area News Group. “Local politicians secure $5m for youth mental health centers.” Edited by Anne Gelhaus. The Mercury News [San Jose], 12 July 2026, http://mercurynews.com/2026/07/12/local-politicians-secure-5m-for-youth-mental-health-centers-2/.

Grassel, Isabelle, and Assemblymember Marc Berman. “Assemblymember Berman Secures Funding for Youth Mental Health Resources.” Marc Berman, California State Assembly, 6 July 2026, https://berman.asmdc.org/press-releases/20260706-assemblymember-berman-secures-funding-youth-mental-health-resources.