Project Safety Net, a suicide prevention nonprofit, hosted a community meeting to discuss impending budget cuts to Santa Clara’s Behavioral Services Department at the Palo Alto Art Center on Tuesday. The meeting was led by County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga.
In July, President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1 into law. Also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, H.R. 1 cut roughly $1 trillion from Medicaid. BHS Deputy Director Megan Wheelehan said these cuts will likely affect the Palo Alto mental health center allcove, which was founded by Stanford Medicine in 2021 to serve youth aged 12 to 25.
“Medi-Cal is our largest funding source, and so the changes under H.R. 1 are going to limit our ability to expand services, and also require us to reduce services in many areas,” Wheelehan said during the meeting. “Pretty much every evaluator found that some local funds will be required to operate allcove, even in a best-case scenario around medical billing and commercial insurance billing.”
According to BHS Division Director Jennifer Pham, approximately 1,400 youth have come to allcove for mental health services since its creation.
“What we’re focusing on is this integrated model,” Pham said. “Mental health services, substance use prevention services, physical health services, supported education, employment services, peer support and just a community space where educational workshops and social events can occur.”
After sharing personal experiences with allcove, community members, including current and former PAUSD students, urged community leaders to preserve it.
Stanford Professor of Psychiatry Shashank Joshi said over 70% of youth who visit allcove say they wouldn’t have sought help elsewhere.
“This is not just a mental health clinic; it’s a lifeline,” Joshi said. “Every dollar invested in allcove saves exponentially more in crisis care, in ER visits, in hospitalizations.”
Paly alumni Tess Manjarrez, who benefited from allcove’s services in college, said the services are worth the costs.
“I understand, as I think every native Palo Altan does, that money is the most important factor here,” Manjarrez said. “But please do consider the incredible value of what having a real, accessible, free third space does for children who may not feel like they can access safe care anywhere else.”
Gunn sophomore and allcove Youth Advisory Board member Alina Fleischmann said allcove’s youth-centered system and accessibility make it a valuable part of the community.
“Yes, there are psychiatrists. Yes, there are therapists, but those are hard to find and even harder to access without parent permission,” Fleischmann said. “And the amazing thing about allcove is that it supports youth; by youth, for youth.”
At the end of the meeting, Abe-Koga called on the community to share ideas on how to continue funding allcove’s services.
“I don’t want to get rid of allcove,” Abe-Koga said. “But as we’ve shared, in terms of our budget situation, everything is on the table right now, and so I need your help to figure out … how do we maintain our services, but be able to do it at a lower cost?”
Ultimately, Manjarrez said, these budget cuts are a symptom of a larger nation-wide problem around youth mental health.
“Federally, this is going to keep happening until we can change the trajectory of funding,” Manjarrez said. “We are seeing a culture and leadership that are devaluing mental health, that are devaluing the arts, that are devaluing funding and devaluing protecting youth.”
