Mental Health

CalMatters and CatchLight are partnering on a three-year initiative to tell powerful stories about mental health in California. We’ll spotlight solutions, personal stories, investigate systems, and bring greater awareness to this historically stigmatized topic. This initiative is supported by:

Enlight Foundation
California Health Care Foundation
Flourish Impact Fund
Lisa Stone Pritzker Family Foundation
Resonance Philanthropies
Sarlo Family Foundation
Sand Hill Foundation
Stuart Foundation

An unidentifiable person wearing a black suit stands in front of a desk inside a courtroom facing a judge's bench. Another person, wearing an orange jumpsuit and with chains around their wait and hands, can be seen in the background.

Justice

Has psychiatric care become a get-out-of-jail-free card in California? The debate is heating up

Californians accused of crimes can receive mental health treatment rather than prison time under a 2018 law. Lawmakers are revamping the rules following reports of violent offenses.

By Gagandeep Singh • May 13, 2026

A boarded-up building with a steep triangular roof sits behind a chain-link fence in an empty lot, with tarps covering parts of the roof and surrounding structures.

Housing

Did Newsom’s $3.8 billion hotels-to-housing program pay off? We filed 100 records requests to find out

The records provide a first-of-its-kind look into how a historic investment in homeless housing played out.

By Lauren Hepler and Marisa Kendall • May 7, 2026

Eight candidates stand at separate podiums across a stage during a televised California governor’s debate, with moderators seated at a table in the foreground and a large “Voters Decide” backdrop behind them.

Politics

How will California’s next governor handle homelessness?

Whoever takes the mantle as California’s next governor will face an immediate test as they try to solve the crisis of homelessness on our streets. Nearly a quarter of all homeless U.S. residents live in California, though the state is only home to 11% of the country’s overall population. Voters are frustrated by encampments that […]

By Marisa Kendall • May 6, 2026

Two people sit in a parked car, one in the driver’s seat and one in the passenger seat, both looking toward the camera.

Health

They answer the call for Californians in mental distress. The money is running out

A funding shift in California's budget could gut the mental health crisis teams that are fielding record call volumes across the state.

By Ana B. Ibarra • May 5, 2026

A top-down view of a pair of hands blurred by motion as they work near a tablet and a laptop on a busy desktop with papers scattered around. The motion blur and the mess of papers give a feeling of chaos and uncertainty.

Commentary

With ADHD, understanding how people think is as crucial as knowing what they know

The conversation about ADHD in adults shouldn’t stop at accommodation; it must include how workplaces recognize and leverage diverse ways of thinking.

By Ronald Gonzalez-Lawrence • April 30, 2026

A group of individuals stands or sits near a sidewalk lined with belongings, including bags, a stroller, and a green tent. One person looks at a phone, another carries a large bag over their shoulder, and some appear to be conversing or waiting. The background features a textured gray wall, and the scene conveys a sense of urban life and temporary shelter.

Commentary

Community as cure: Mental health help for homeless Black people is losing funds

Typical mental health efforts missed many Black Californians who are homeless, but some organizations made progress until Trump’s recent funding cuts.

By Amaya Noguera and Pedro Noguera • April 27, 2026

A person bends over a bag on a grassy roadside at night near a discarded mattress and scattered belongings, with a blurred car passing in the background.

Mental Health

Plans to fix gaps in Newsom’s mental health court reopen divisions over involuntary care

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s CARE Court struggles to serve Californians in acute mental health crises. Two bills are moving forward to change that.

By Marisa Kendall • April 27, 2026

A group of officials stands inside a building under construction with exposed wooden framing. One person speaks at a podium with a sign that reads “TREATMENT NOT TENTS,” while others stand behind them listening. Temporary work lights hang overhead, and unfinished walls and beams fill the background.

Commentary

CARE Court should refocus on mentally ill homeless people, the hardest to help

California's mental health initiatives sometimes bypass individuals with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, often the most expensive to treat.

By Darrell Steinberg • April 22, 2026

A mother holds her child in her apartment in Redding on Sept. 20, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Digital Democracy

A California lawmaker has a first-in-the-nation plan to boost child support payments

A California lawmaker wants to bring more families into the state's formal child support system, a move that advocates say could reduce child poverty.

By ChrisAnna Mink • April 16, 2026

Commentary

‘Give me another solution.’ Counties resist mental health centers, betraying patients and families

Monterey County recently halted development of a mental health center, leaving struggling patients and families in a lurch.

By George B. Sánchez-Tello • March 31, 2026