Blue Shield of California announced a $300,000 grant to nonprofit organizations providing mental health support in San Diego and Almeda counties.
The grant is part of Blue Shield's ongoing Bluesky initiative, a multi-year effort to enhance awareness, advocacy, and access to mental health support for middle and high school students.
"Building on the success of our BlueSky program, we are adding additional support to reach youth who are unable to participate in school-based mental health services due to COVID-19," said Kimberley Goode, senior vice president of External Affairs for Blue Shield.
The $300,000 will be divided into 18 different grants – nine each in Alameda and San Diego counties.
Alameda County
La Clinica de la Raza, Inc.
East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC)
Youth Uprising
ROOTS Community Health Clinic – Dream Youth Clinic
Asian Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership (AYPAL)
Beats Rhymes and Life, Inc
Refugee and Immigrant Transitions
Oakland LGBTQ Community Center – Youth Development Program
Bridges from School to Work
San Diego County
Harmonium
Union of Pan Asian Communities
The San Diego LGBT Community Center
North County Lifeline
Casa Familiar
A Reason to Survive (ARTS)
The Aja Project
MANA de San Diego
Blue Star Families
BlueSky is a multi-year commitment by Blue Shield to support mental health for middle and high school students by providing additional clinicians in schools, training teachers on noticing the signs of mental health issues, and empowering students with in-person and online mental health support resources.
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"When the pandemic struck, we had to fully transform our operations in a few days' time to accommodate the influx of need in the community," said Caraessert, Esq, chief executive officer of the San Diego LGBT Community Center. "We immediately shifted individual therapy sessions so they could safely and effectively be done via Zoom and opened an emergency help phone line to ensure people could get resources and referrals. Because of Blue Shield's altruism, we will be able to continue with that good work and ultimately assist more people."
