Can California better serve the mental health needs of its diverse communities amid crises?

A convergence of local and national crises is spreading fear, grief, and uncertainty among some of California’s most vulnerable communities, prompting advocates to call for improved mental health care access and treatment.

In Los Angeles County, wildfires have devastated tens of thousands of residents, as homes, schools, businesses and tight-knit neighborhoods were lost or are forever altered. Across the country, President Trump’s anti-immigration policies have sown fear and anxiety among immigrants. Meanwhile, existing health care systems are struggling to provide adequate and quality mental health care for people of color.

At the 2025 Ethnic Media Collaborative symposium in Los Angeles last week, panelists discussed the current mental health care system and the need for interventions that take into account the unique needs and circumstances of California’s diverse populations. 

Under the Affordable Care Act, California expanded Medicaid to include previously excluded groups, such as low-income seniors, undocumented children and young adults. Last year, Medicaid became available to anyone who is income-eligible, regardless of age or immigration status. That includes mental health care.

“But the reality is that very, very few people, and particularly in communities of color, are able to access that care,” said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. “There are a lot of barriers,” especially for limited English proficient speakers and undocumented immigrants, she added. 

During Trump’s first term, the expanded “public charge rule” led to widespread fear among immigrants that using government benefits such as health care could harm one’s immigration status. The policy led some immigrants to drop their public health coverage and stop using other benefits, such as food assistance. 

The Republican-led Congress is now considering major cuts to federal Medicaid funding. Such a move could threaten California’s ability to fund ongoing Medicaid benefits for undocumented groups. Additionally, Sangwan noted that California’s “safe harbor” policies — in which certain facilities, such as schools and health facilities, are exempted from cooperating with immigration enforcement — may be challenged by Trump’s executive orders.

To address these policy changes and other factors impacting the mental health of California communities, panelists suggested a variety of strategies to address these challenges, including expanding preventative mental health programs in schools. Dr. Marleen Wong, co-founder and CEO of Center for Safe and Resilient Schools, an organization that trains schools to respond to traumatic experiences such as wildfires and school shootings, emphasized how important school mental health services have become for the nearly half a million students in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Wong worries the wildfires — as well as rising school violence in certain ZIP codes — will negatively impact students’ well-being. She said schools have a responsibility to respond.  Without interventions to address such trauma, students may struggle with reading and graduation rates, Wong added. The cumulative stress experienced by the city’s Black and Latino students make it even more crucial to invest in equipping youth and staff with coping skills.

Another strategy the panel discussed is relying more on trained mental health response units and community groups, rather than law enforcement, to de-escalate situations involving individuals of all ages experiencing episodes. “We train communities to have more skills and tools to be able to respond to mental health crises with dignity themselves,” said Yolo Akili Robinson, founder and executive director of BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective).

Robinson also emphasized the need to acknowledge and address the underlying social factors that impact behavioral and mental health in marginalized communities. “Mental health is not just something you do in a therapy office. It is how a system, it is how a country is designed, how schools are designed,” Robinson said. 

Wong said addressing the basic needs of affected communities was also vital to improve students’ mental health outcomes, such as ensuring stable housing and safety. 

In a state as diverse as California, the panelists also emphasized the need for offering services in residents’ primary languages, so immigrants can access better care, and incorporating traditional healing practices in treatment. “They deserve to have care,” added Robinson, “and need to have accessible care that is built for them, that is safe for them as well.”

Sangwan noted that this year, some states, in collaboration with tribal partners, are covering such interventions to treat substance abuse disorders. California, Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon are providing Medicaid reimbursements for traditional healers recognized and trusted by tribal communities, an effort that seeks to improve health outcomes.