ELEVATE YOUTH CALIFORNIA: NEW GRANTS STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION ACROSS THE STATE
California Funds 57 Organizations to Support Youth Leadership and Reduce Substance Use
Bí tích — The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) today awarded nearly $47 million in grants to 57 community-based and Tribal organizations throughout California to help prevent substance use among youth. These grants support programs that focus on mentoring, peer support, and civic engagement for young people in communities that have historically faced barriers to accessing these services.
“This funding empowers youth to lead change in their communities,” said Giám đốc DHCS Michelle Baass . “By supporting culturally responsive, peer-led programs, we’re investing in the resilience and long-term wellness of California’s young people.”
Each organization will receive up to $1 million in total over a three-year period, from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2028, to implement the Elevate Youth California (EYC) program . EYC is designed to help youth ages 12 to 26 build leadership skills, connect with mentors, and access culturally responsive support services.
WHY THIS MATTERS: This funding is part of a larger effort by DHCS to strengthen California’s substance use disorder prevention programs. EYC helps youth-serving organizations use evidence-based and community-driven approaches to support young people. Programs funded through EYC are healing-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally and linguistically responsive. EYC prioritizes substance use prevention and public health strategies that build resilience.
This investment also supports Governor Gavin Newsom’s Path & Purpose executive order , which calls on state agencies to support young men and boys in service and leadership and provide meaningful and caring adult relationships for young people living in the highest need communities. All awarded organizations welcome young men and boys. While EYC requires that funded initiatives focus on underserved communities, all genders may participate. DHCS’ 2024 Annual Report shows that 37 percent of the population served by EYC programs are boys.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: "Elevate Youth California funding has been more than just support, but transformative in our practices as a program,” said Ilien Tolteca, Youth Coordinator for the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project . “This funding has allowed us to create and enhance our satellite sites across our city, serving and fostering community with 60 to 100 Indigenous youth from the Mixteco, Zapotec, and many other Diasporic communities throughout the Central Coast. It has strengthened autonomous youth leadership, cultural knowledge, and accessibility to higher education resources/tools for our youth.”
“The EYC grant has allowed us to provide vital prevention services to foster youth, youth on probation, and others in our community,” said Anthony Hughey, Executive Director of The Young People's Foundation, Inc . “We’ve built long-term relationships with youth from underserved Black and brown communities and developed peer leaders who are driving change.”
ABOUT EYC: Since EYC launched in 2019, DHCS has awarded more than $370 million through 517 grants. EYC is funded by Proposition 64, passed by voters in November 2016, which legalized adult non-medical marijuana use in California and created a tax system to regulate cannabis sales. A portion of that tax revenue supports EYC through DHCS, funding youth-focused prevention and leadership programs statewide. These grants support youth development, civic engagement, and peer-led support in 56 of California’s 58 counties.
PATH AND PURPOSE: In July, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to address a growing issue — the alarming rise in suicides and disconnection among California’s young men and boys. The order directs a coordinated statewide response to improve mental health outcomes, reduce stigma, and expand access to meaningful education, work, and mentorship opportunities. The full executive order can be found here. The executive order helps address this crisis, directing state agencies to create a new focus on this issue and developing new pathways to help reconnect men and boys with the support, assistance, and help they need.