Connecting Our Community: News & Updates

High Desert Mental Health Center Opens in Lancaster

LACDMH’s Service Area 1 was proud to celebrate the opening of the High Desert Mental Health Center with Fifth District County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and other County departments on December 11 in Lancaster.

The new High Desert clinic features a Crisis Residential Treatment Program (CRTP), Crisis Stabilization Unit and Mental Health Hub to provide a broad range of supports in an integrated, wholistic setting for people experiencing mental health challenges. It’s a major milestone in Los Angeles County’s commitment to building a compassionate, modern and integrated system of care. The project was supported and funded from multiple sources, including County general funds and more than $43 million awarded from California’s Mental Health Services Act and the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program.

The Crisis Residential Treatment Program will be the first adult CRTP in the Antelope Valley and will house 16 beds and provide a short-term alternative to hospitalization, serving 275 to 400 adults annually. The Crisis Stabilization Unit will serve children and youth in Service Area 1, giving families a much closer resource for the nearly 3,000 expected child and youth visitors. The Mental Health Hub expands the programs already operating at the High Desert Regional Health Center, allowing LACDMH to hire additional staff and serve more people. Currently, the Regional Health Center sees 850 individuals per year, and this expansion is estimated to serve more than 2,600 people annually.

LACDMH Director Lisa H. Wong, Psy.D., spoke alongside Supervisor Barger; Kristin Sakoda, Director of the County Department of Arts & Culture; Miki Esposito, County Department of Public Works Assistant Director; Shari Doe, DHS Ambulatory Care Network CEO; Lancaster Councilmember Raj Malhi; and Palmdale Councilmember Eric Ohlsen.

On Nov. 24, LACDMH officially launched the Office of Transition Age Youth to promote the wellbeing and mental health of young people between ages 16 and 25. By coordinating and centering services around this population’s specific needs, the Office of TAY will increase access to services, reduce stigma and barriers, and empower them to lead healthy, thriving lives.

The launch took place at LACDMH Headquarters and featured remarks from Lisa H. Wong, Psy.D., LACDMH Director, Mary Barraza, Senior Deputy Director of Prevention and Child Wellbeing Services and Erica Reynoso, Ph.D., Countywide Chief for the Office of TAY, highlighting this program’s purpose and mission.

The event also included a screening of the “Cope Safely” short film featuring the voices of three youths and explores the realities of coping with mental health and substance use challenges. The film was made in partnership with UCLA’s Prevention Center of Excellence and Kids in the Spotlight, an organization that helps foster youth heal and grow from trauma through the power of storytelling and filmmaking

After the screening, Shailen Dawkins from Youth Creating Change and film director Joseph Roa moderated a Q&A session with youth experts who shared their lived experiences with human service systems. The launch event concluded with a call to action for LACDMH and its partners to strengthen their collaboration and to engage TAY in service planning and implementation.

For more information about the Office of TAY’s programs, email AskTAY@dmh.lacounty.gov. Additional resources and services are also featured on our TAY Services webpage.

The Hollywood 2.0 program hosted its second open house of 2025 at the Preserve, an event and co-working space in Hollywood on November 11. LACDMH’s community-based, compassionate neighborhood care brought together the Hollywood community for food, fun and updates. The event was hosted by DMH and Hollywood 4WRD.  

The November update provided new details on the program’s success. There have been 6,601 clients served through the mental health center; 126 members in the Fountain House Clubhouse; and 152 clients placed in interim housing with 89 more in A New Dawn and 86 others in project-based housing.  

The highlight of the event was the segment, “Chatting with Carolyn,” which featured Carolyn Kaneko, Mental Health Program Manager II, and three clients, Hope, Mignon and Shandonna. The clients spoke about their journey into the Hollywood 2.0 program and how much they have grown through being housed, attending the clinic and other services like Fountain House, a community-based recovery clubhouse that supports its members.   

The event also featured remarks from LACDMH’s Karla Bennett, Mental Health Program Manager II, program evaluation updates from RAND, IDEO’s new H2.0 engagement campaign, and an update on the community art project. 

The Hollywood Mental Health Cooperative team celebrated its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunset Boulevard on October 30 and was acknowledged with a certificate from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to mark the occasion. The event was emceed by Carolyn Kaneko, Mental Health Program Manager II, and Karla Bennett, Mental Health Program Manager II.  

The event featured remarks from Third District County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath; Jazmine Garcia Delgadillo, Health Deputy for First District County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis; LACDMH Director Lisa H. Wong, Psy.D.; and a client testimonial. Attendees were later treated to a tour around the new clinic space.  

The cooperative provides a host of services, including mental health referral and assessment, crisis intervention, individual treatment, group therapy, case management, medication management and more. Services are provided in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Russian and Armenian. The clinic is also a part of the Hollywood 2.0 pilot program, which integrates outpatient clinic services, Full-Service Partnership teams and field-based care. 

LACDMH and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) recently launched a webpage dedicated to providing more information to residents, clinicians, law enforcement, and other stakeholders about Senate Bill 43, a new law that expands the definition of “gravely disabled” under California’s Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act.  

Considered the biggest change to California conservatorship law in more than 50 years, in addition to mental health disorders, the new definition of grave disability adds individuals with a severe substance use disorder or a co-occurring mental health disorder and severe substance use disorder who are unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, shelter, and added considerations around personal safety or necessary medical care.    

To collaboratively launch Senate Bill 43, LACDMH and DPH partnered to enhance and increase public awareness and education of the upcoming changes through downloadable materials, social media posts, and community outreach presentations. Materials are available in several threshold languages, including English, Spanish, Korean, Armenian, Tagalog, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese.  

LACDMH and DPH are hosting community education events with Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), ADA support and ASL, Korean and Spanish translations. The sessions are hosted by LACDMH’s Service Area Leadership Teams (SALT) and Underserved Cultural Communities (UsCC). The public is invited to learn more about Senate Bill 43 and its impacts by attending any of these community meetings listed on the Senate Bill 43 website.   

LACDMH Director Dr. Lisa H. Wong joined First District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis on October 8 at the Los Angeles General Medical Center for a groundbreaking ceremony. The site will host the first phase of the Century Housing development at the medical center’s Restorative Care Village. The project will bring 146 supportive and affordable homes to the site and will include shared community spaces, a 12-bed peer respite facility, and on-site supportive services.  

The larger Restorative Care Village at LA General Medical Center will feature new behavioral health facilities, including a mental health urgent care center, a residential withdrawal management unit, and a 128-bed mental health rehabilitation center. These efforts are a part of the County’s broader Restorative Care Village model, which integrates physical and behavioral health services in an integrated location. 

Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado also attended the event; Emilio Salas, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Development Authority, and more. 

LACDMH is continuing its Eaton Fire recovery efforts by offering free psychological first aid classes at Loma Alta Park (3330 N. Lincoln Ave., Altadena, CA 91001). Residents have the option to walk in as sessions are available three times during the week on Tuesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Thursdays from noon to 1:30 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 1:30 p.m., except on Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day.   

The “Dealing with Disaster” program supports community members in managing psychologically after a disaster and covers mindfulness exercises, informational instruction, and discussion. Classes are open to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Mental health is critical in the recovery from devastating and traumatic events. Individuals affected by a disaster may struggle with new or long-term mental health challenges. Psychological first aid can support recovery and promote resilience by helping people recognize signs of distress, discover and use tools to manage stress symptoms, and learn about additional wellbeing resources for themselves and their loved ones. 

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) has been busy with ribbon cuttings and grand openings throughout the County for housing and clinical projects. LACDMH Director Dr. Lisa H. Wong joined First District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn, and Second District Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell to celebrate the opening of SSG Kohler, Huntington Square and West Central Family Mental Health Clinic, respectively.   

SSG Kohler hosted its ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 1 at 615 Kohler St. on the east side of the Skid Row neighborhood. Dr. Wong joined Supervisor Solis at the 60-bed behavioral health housing program. SSG Kohler will accept individuals with a history of justice involvement within the past 12 months. The site has on-site housing navigation staff, an on-site mental health clinician, an on-site Licensed Vocational Nurse and access to the Department’s Full Service Partnership program. 

Also on October 1, LACDMH joined L.A. County Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn, A Community of Friends, Huntington Park officials and others to celebrate the grand opening of Huntington Square, a 48-unit development that provides supportive housing to older adults and veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The building features furnished studio and 1-bedroom apartments along with communal spaces. Residents are also connected to a broad range of supportive services to enhance their wellbeing including counseling, case management, skills training and linkage to other resources.  

Supervisor Mitchell joined LACDMH and Dr. Wong for the ribbon cutting at the West Central Family Mental Health Clinic on September 27. The clinic temporarily left South Los Angeles, but has now been re-located to its permanent location at 3609 10th Ave. The clinic provides rehabilitative care, clinical services, targeted case management support and a full range of mental health services.