A San Francisco youth clinic offers a one-stop location for vulnerable children and young adults, combining medical testing, basic treatment, and counseling in a single visit. A family therapy counselor creates a calming environment with warm lighting and comfort tools such as fidget bracelets to help clients manage discomfort while being vulnerable. The clinic operates in the basement of a youth center in the Tenderloin and serves people who may be living on the streets. The clinic is scheduled to close later in the year due to large federal Medicaid cuts that reduce Medi-Cal funding for the city. The city faces a projected $306 million loss over two years, prompting efforts to increase general funds while also requiring additional cuts.
"The clinic provides medical testing, basic medical treatment and counseling for some of the most vulnerable children and young adults in San Francisco, who are often living on the streets."
"The goal is to help her patients feel more comfortable as they get mental health care for potentially the first time."
"It's "hard to know what to do with your hands when you're being vulnerable," she explains."
"The federal cuts to Medicaid - administered as Medi-Cal in California - mean there will be a loss of $306 million over two years for the city, according to a budget outlook published by the agency in April."
#mental-health-care #youth-services #medicaidmedi-cal-funding #san-francisco-public-health #homelessness-and-vulnerable-populations
Read at SFGATE
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]