Kaiser Permanente is investing $10 million in the Youth Mental Health Corps to expand access to peer support.
The initiative was launched in 2024 by the Schultz Family Foundation and Pinterest to pair teens with young adult peers who provide mental health navigation. Kaiser joins as a strategic leader and national partner of the initiative with the goal of reaching an additional 200,000 youth nationally.
Funding will first expand programs in California, Maryland and Oregon before scaling across Kaiser’s nine-state footprint. The initiative recruits and trains peers to support teens within schools, health clinics and community organizations. The goal is to help youth navigate stress, isolation and early signs of mental health concerns before a crisis occurs. When a teen needs care, peers connect them to localized resources or treatment in their area.
“Supporting mental health requires more than clinical care alone,” Bechara Choucair, executive vice president and chief health officer for Kaiser Permanente, said in a press release. “The Youth Mental Health Corps creates another pathway for young people to receive emotional support through trusted peer relationships. It’s an innovative approach that helps communities expand support, foster connection and meet young people where they are.”
Teen mental health issues are on the rise, and care access remains a challenge. Four in 10 teens with depression did not receive mental health treatment in 2024. At the same time, youth may feel more comfortable opening up about mental health challenges to peers, research suggests. The initiative operates from this philosophy.
Beyond supporting teens, the Youth Mental Health Corps creates career pathways by giving young adults early career experience providing mental health services. Kaiser’s grant builds on its broader strategy to scale mental health access by investing in innovative approaches. The organization reinvests a portion of its revenue into initiatives like the Youth Mental Health Corps as part of its nonprofit status and commitment to bettering its communities, per the announcement.
Kaiser leaders will participate in the National Governors Association’s summer meeting in early August to discuss how innovative national service models can help states address mental health. The Youth Mental Health Corps will be highlighted as an example.
“I am thankful to Kaiser Permanente and the Schultz Family Foundation and Pinterest for supporting the Youth Mental Health Corps and increasing access to mental health services,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a longtime champion of service-to-career pathways, said in the press release. “Through service opportunities, we are creating meaningful pathways for young people to uplift their communities while they gain skills needed to succeed in their careers.”
The initiative is already active in 16 states and has placed nearly 1,000 members reaching over 44,000 teens.