Casa Pacifica expands mobile crisis response service for youth in Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Casa Pacifica just hired a new crisis care specialist for its children’s mobile crisis program.

"Meaning that they go out into the field here in the Santa Barbara area and support any use who is having a mental health crisis," said regional director Kimberly Valenzuela of Casa Pacifica.

Thanks to A $90,000 grant from the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, the a mobile crisis response service will support youth ages 20 and under across Santa Barbara County. 

"Stabilize them to be able to keep them in their home and help to not utilize resources like law-enforcement or hospitals," said Valenzuela.

"Hospital shortage of services outpatient community, able to hire more staff to get our clinicians licensed and help them see people in the outpatient side," said CEO Shawna Morris of Casa Pacifica.

Casa Pacifica hopes their Safety program will continue to grow in order to meet the mental health needs of the youth in the community. 

"We’re able to do that through individual group therapy testing able to offer enhanced case management all of those things to keep them in their homes and to keep them healthy," said Morris

An estimated one in five youth ages 13 – 18 in the U.S. have a psychiatric or emotional disorder, says directors of Casa Pacifica.

"My hope is that everyone has access to mental health services when they need it and it’s easy for them to access service," said Morris.