Beach Cities Health District Seeks Partners for allcove Beach Cities youth center

Photo courtesy of Beach Cities Health District

The new center will bring community partners together to serve the health needs of young people ages 12-25

Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) has released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for partners to deliver programs and services within its allcove Beach Cities center.

In March, BCHD announced its partnership with allcove, a program developing an innovative network of integrated youth mental health centers across the state of California. Funded by the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, the $2 million, 4-year grant will establish “allcove Beach Cities,” a youth wellness center initially opening this fall at BCHD, 514 N. Prospect Ave., 4th floor, in Redondo Beach. allcove Beach Cities will offer mental and physical health services, supported education and employment, peer and family support, and substance use prevention programs for young people ages 12-25 in the greater South Bay. BCHD was endorsed by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health to apply for the funds.

Additional funding for the center includes $1 million from Congress that is part of the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package President Biden signed into law in March 2022. Congressman Ted Lieu requested and championed funding for allcove Beach Cities and nine other community projects to serve California’s 33rd Congressional District.

Partners responding to the RFQ must be able to adhere to the model’s core services in the areas of:

  1. mental health
  2. physical health
  3. substance use
  4. supported education and employment
  5. peer support
  6. family support

Partners should have experience with providing services to populations who represent the diversity of the Beach Cities and surrounding communities across race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, lived experience, ability and socio-economic status in addition to working with marginalized groups in the community including transitional-aged youth, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, juvenile justice involved youth, foster youth and undocumented young people. The RFQ can be accessed online at bchd.org/allcovebeachcities. Qualifications are due by June 3, 2022 by 5 p.m.

“Together with our partners, we’re taking a collaborative approach to support youth mental health in our community,” said Beach Cities Health District CEO Tom Bakaly. “Our goal is to help local students and young adults thrive physically and mentally. I encourage local providers to join us in our fight for a healthy future for our youth.”

When it opens later this year, the center will be in a temporary location on the BCHD campus. However, allcove Beach Cities will be a permanent feature in phase one of BCHD’s Healthy Living Campus project, which includes a re-design of its current Prospect Avenue campus. Construction on the Healthy Living Campus project is tentatively slated to begin in 2023.

For more information about allcove Beach Cities and the RFQ, please visit bchd.org/allcoveBeachCities. Once allcove Beach Cities opens its doors, young people will be able to find more information about accessing services at allcove.org.