Caring In A Crisis: Casa Pacifica Receives Grant From Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara

CAMARILLO, Calif., June 11, 2024 –   A $90,000 grant from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara will enable Casa Pacifica to increase crisis care services in Santa Barbara County for youth who are experiencing a mental health crisis. The funding will support the hiring of a Crisis Care team member for Casa Pacifica’s Safe Alternatives for Treating Youth (SAFTY™) program, a mobile crisis response service for Santa Barbara County youth ages 20 and under.

An estimated one in five youth ages 13 – 18 in the U.S. have a psychiatric or emotional disorder. Many of them are also in crisis.  Suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth ages 10 – 24, and mood disorders are the third most common cause for hospitalization of youth.

When children and youth experience a mental health crisis parents, teachers and family members may not be equipped with adequate resources to assist them. As a result, they may involve law enforcement or seek care in emergency rooms or psychiatric hospitals. 

Casa Pacifica’s SAFTY program provides assessment and evaluation of children and youth, up to age 20, who are experiencing a mental or behavioral health emergency, with the goal of reducing psychiatric hospitalization and other out-of-home placements.  The SAFTY team is comprised of therapists, behavioral health case managers and peer support specialists who are trained to handle suicidal thoughts, substance abuse emergencies and other behavioral health crises as well as provide linkages to mental health and other support services. Crisis

intervention services are provided in the home, school or community based on the location and needs of the youth.

“Our SAFTY program provides caring and less traumatizing approaches to crisis intervention, and whenever possible, avoid outcomes that involve hospitalization or incarceration,” said Kimberly Valenzuela, Psy.D., Regional Director, Santa Barbara County. “Our goal is to support youth and families through trust and attention and ultimately contribute to reducing stigma around youth mental health and accessing help.”

Since 2022, Casa Pacifica’s SAFTY program has received more than 2,000 calls to its crisis line and handled nearly 700 in-person responses throughout the community.

“A mental health crisis can happen at any time, so it’s important that our youth and families have access to the support they need when they need it,” said Shawna Morris, MPA, Chief Executive Officer, Casa Pacifica. “Through this timely and generous grant, Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is ensuring our SAFTY team can provide the most appropriate response to a youth in crisis and connect them to the best resources. We are immeasurably grateful for their investment in our SAFTY program and for sustaining a mental health continuum of care for our youth.”

SAFTY is available to youth in Santa Barbara seven days a week from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM at 888-334-2777.

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Casa Pacifica Mission:  Casa Pacifica inspires hope and nurtures mental health and well-being of children, young adults, and families to realize their full potential.

Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families provides assessment, clinical, medical, residential, and educational services to foster and at-risk children/youth struggling with complex mental health disorders due to past trauma and/or mental illness. The agency is the largest non-profit provider of children’s and adolescent mental health services in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties and administers 17 campus- and community-based programs and services designed to give youth, and their families, the tools they need to heal, rebuild and strengthen relationships, reengage with their educations, and overcome their negative emotional and behavioral challenges. The agency’s Camino a Casa program, available to clients with private insurance, provides behavioral health care to support youth ages 12 to 17 with emotional and behavioral issues, along with their families.

For more information about Casa Pacifica visit its website www.casapacifica.org or call the Development Department at (805) 445-7800.