Leo StallworthLos Angeles County officials celebrated the grand opening of the Antelope Valley's first county-operated, youth-centered mental health program at its new offices in east Palmdale.
The program has 30 trained health professionals and additional case workers to support juveniles with community resources that go beyond mental health needs."We are talking about thousands of children having a need to be seen," said L.A. County mental health professional Theion Perkins. "It was apparent that there was a great need, and to see this uphill battle come to fruition, it made me very emotional because I started saying in 2017 that we needed a direct out child clinic.
According to Coomes, the need for an adolescent outpatient initiative stems from an exponential population increase in the area. "If they see that there's no help, the results are bad and I don't want that," Flores said through tears. "That is one thing I don't wish on anyone, on them or their parents, to lose a child ... know that there's somebody here that can talk to you,"