Crossposted from Cultivating Connections

Supporting the well-being and mental health of our communities is a priority for King County. Even before the pandemic, community members were facing new challenges in accessing supports for mental health care. Since the pandemic, those challenges have deepened, especially for young people who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), LGBTQ+, and multilingual who have increasing mental health needs but a lack of culturally representative providers.

Among other areas of investments in behavioral health, King County is expanding funding in the workforce. The Crisis Care Centers Initiative invests in expanded licensed mental health care workers. In Best Starts for Kids, our teams are funding efforts to bring in more providers and healers who can offer culturally responsive supports: providers who are LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and multilingual. Read more.