Health & Wellness Newsletter – Celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month
May 27, 2025
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the theme for 2025, as established by Mental Health America, is “Turn Awareness into Action.”
As Expanded Learning professionals, we show up every day with energy, compassion, and dedication to support the young people we serve. But to continue pouring into others, we must first make space to care for ourselves. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we invite you to pause, reflect, and prioritize your own well-being. In this issue, you’ll find resources, tips, and inspiration to support mental health for children, youth, families, and youth developers—because when we care for ourselves, we strengthen our capacity to uplift our communities.
In This Newsletter:
Self-Care as Community Care
Self-care has become a buzzword in the mental health and wellness spaces. However, self-care is not always possible, particularly for individuals facing systemic barriers such as poverty, overwork, or marginalization. Healthline highlights the importance of interdependence and the human need for connection, as outlined in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It suggests practical ways to incorporate community care into daily life, such as regularly checking in with others, offering specific support, and being present for those who may be overwhelmed.
Want more examples of community care? The Strategic Design Kick-off that happened in late March provides some examples on community care and healing. During the “Tides of Wisdom” Guest Panel, Nathaniel Wilson and Rosalina Mancillas spoke about how healing can happen in ExL programs with an emphasis on community.
Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) Digital Toolkit & Webinar
Quarterly Webinar: June 12, 2025, 3:00 PM PST
Registration is now open for the next Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) Quarterly Public Webinar, held on June 12, at 3:00PM. Join to hear updates on CYBHI’s progress and how its services improve behavioral health support for California’s children, youth, and families.
Soluna App: CA’s Mental Health App for 13 – 25 year olds
Download the App Today!
Soluna, from California’s CalHOPE program, offers free, confidential mental health support for 13- to 25-year-olds in California. Soluna is available on both iOS and Android, providing youth and young adults aged 13-25 with immediate access to a comprehensive mental health toolkit, community support, resources, and journaling—all at no cost to the user, their parents, or their school.
Summer Meals Outreach Toolkit
NoKidHungry has created a toolkit help you get the word out to families about meals available for children and teens this summer. It includes ready-to-use and customizable materials available in editable Canva formats and downloadable PNG/PDF files. All materials are provided in English and Spanish for easy family outreach.
Staying Nourished Over the Summer
SUNBucks
California will soon be releasing electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards for the SUNBucks food program for Summer 2025. In the summer of 2024, California was one of the first states in the nation to launch SUN Bucks. In its first year, nearly $500 million in food purchases were made and the families and caregivers of more than 4.3 million California children activated their SUN Bucks cards.
Save the Date for Play Day!
June 2025
The National Day of Play is June 29th! Hosted by the LA84 Foundation and the Play Equity Fund, Play Day celebrates the benefits of movement, play, and youth sports for all kids.
At CAN, Play Day is celebrated throughout the month of June with activations throughout the state emphasizing the importance of play and movement for our youth. Keep an eye out for this year’s events on our Play Day webpage!
CalRX & Life-Saving Naloxone
California is officially launching the CalRx® Initiative – to make medications more affordable for all Californians. This includes expanding access to life-saving naloxone for all Californians with $24 Over-the-Counter Naloxone by CalRx®.
Naloxone is a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose and help save lives, and it is crucial to make it easier for everyone to get.
Safe Spaces Training
Join early care providers, school staff, and other professionals in learning how to recognize and effectively respond to signs of trauma and stress. Safe Spaces: Foundations of Trauma-Informed Practice for Educational and Care Settings provides free, trauma-informed professional learning modules for anyone who works with children and youth ages 0–18.
Check Out CAN’s Other Newsletters!
Access the CAN newsletter archives to view past newsletters today! You may be interested in some of our other newsletters as well: